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COPYRIGHT DEPOSfn 


\ 













OUR CAPITOL 









Our Constitution 


ITS STORY 
ITS MEANING 
ITS USE 



A. J. CLOUD 

\v 


CHIEF DEPUTY SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS 
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA 



SCOTT, FORESMAN AND COMPANY 

CHICAGO ATLANTA NEW YORK 


/ 


FKzij 

£ 13 . 


Copyright 1923, by 
Scott, Foresman and Company 


To the International News Reel we are indebted for 
the privilege of using copyrighted material on pages 82, 
110, 123, 132, 154, 173; to Underwood and Underwood 
for copyrighted material on pages 2, 31, 47, 50, 52, 76, 
87, 135, 150, 156, 163; and to the Keystone View Com¬ 
pany for copyrighted material on pages 92, 129, and 
178. 

We are especially grateful to the Illinois Society of 
the National Society of the Colonial Dames of Amer¬ 
ica for permission to use the chart on page 159, which 
is a reduction of one of their series of six prepared for 
use in the schools. 

The United States Coast Guard very kindly furnished 
us with copy for the picture on page 83. 

The illustration on page 182 is from a photograph 
taken by the United States Reclamation Service. 



DEC -6 1923 

©C1A7C5237 

hr 



% 


r 

r 


TO 

E. W. C. 






PREFACE 


The disturbance of world conditions doubtless lies at the 
foundation of the deeper interest in public affairs manifested 
of late by the American people. Indications on every side 
lead to the belief that we have entered an era of truer 
appreciation than formerly of the benefits afforded by our 
system of government, as well as of a keener realization of 
our duty to participate more actively in its operation. 
This movement is reflected in the passage of laws by several 
State legislatures, requiring the schools to provide a definite 
and complete course of instruction in the principles and 
provisions of the federal Constitution. 

Our Constitution: Its Story—Its Meaning—Its Use is 
written in direct response to the laudable movement just 
noted. It is an elementary commentary upon the Constitu¬ 
tion of the United States with applications to problems of 
citizenship. The plan of the book is as follows: 

I. Part One contains a simple explanation of the nature 
of government in general, and of our system of government 
in particular. The aim of this part is to bring to the pupil 
a realization of the need for and the slow evolution of gov¬ 
ernmental forms; and to make him see that government is 
not something willed to men, forced upon them by some 
outside power, but that it has been deliberately, and in 
many cases painfully, developed by men in order that they 
may live happier and better lives. This discussion should 
prepare the pupil to examine his own country’s government 
with greater respect and seriousness. 

The forces which moved the colonists to closer union, and 
the tremendous problems that faced our nation’s founders 


8 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


are next discussed. Then follows an account of the actual 
drawing up of the Constitution. All this is intended to 
impress upon the pupil the fact that this Constitution which 
he is about to study was no easily constructed, hastily 
contrived affair, but a document born out of great needs, 
the product of the most wearying labor, the soberest, pro- 
foundest thought, and the wisest compromise; that it was 
an effort of tremendous import to the world as well as to 
America. 

II. The individual clauses of the Constitution are 
explained in Part Two. Two main purposes have been 
kept in view: to emphasize and make clear the clauses 
involving the great and fundamental principles of our gov¬ 
ernment; to make clear those parts of the governmental 
machinery with which the pupil is most likely to come in 
contact. The general emphasis in this part has been put 
upon principles rather than methods, except where those 
methods come in somewhat close and obvious touch with 
the everyday life of the pupil; thus: 

1. The clauses dealing with the organization and elec¬ 
tion of the national law-making body, the Congress, are 
discussed in such a manner as to stress the responsibility 
of the law-makers to the people and the people’s final 
authority over them. The powers of Congress are taken up 
in such a way as to bring out the value of having a strong 
central government, and the service it renders to each and 
every citizen. These services are discussed specifically. 
Those clauses guaranteeing the fundamental rights of the 
citizens, such as habeas corpus, trial by jury, freedom of 
speech, of religious worship, and of the press, are empha¬ 
sized and clearly explained. 

2. The influence, position, and work of the President and 
the organization and duties of his Cabinet are dwelt upon at 


PREFACE 


9 


length, for they are subjects constantly brought to the pupil's 
attention both in school and out. The postal service, recla¬ 
mation work, weather bureaus, public health work, etc., are 
taken up in this connection. 

3. The judicial department, difficult for the immature 
mind to comprehend and seldom touching the pupil in any 
obvious way, is discussed simply and briefly. The object 
here is merely to let the pupil know what the courts are for, 
and to make him familiar with certain commonly used terms. 

Although every clause of the Constitution is presented 
and discussed, much technical matter beyond the compre¬ 
hension of the pupil is omitted, and only the briefest com¬ 
ment is given on certain clauses which cannot be made 
significant to the pupil at this stage of his development. 

III. An Appendix contains the major part of the Declara¬ 
tion of Independence, the Constitution printed without 
break, and a series of questions designed to meet the needs 
of a thorough review of the actual information in the text. 

IV. At the ends of the chapters are questions and prob¬ 
lems, suggested activities, and references. These are, in the 
main, intended to be thought-provoking, to make the text 
matter more real and vivid, to broaden the study, and to 
bring out some of the problems of good citizenship. At the 
end of the book are added a complete index and a glossary 
of the difficult terms used in the text of the Constitution. 

If the book proves of real service in fostering a more 
active and intelligent interest in the Constitution, and in 
developing more fully a sense of the values and duties of 
citizenship, it will have fulfilled its mission. 

A. J. Cloud 

San Francisco, California 

December 1, 1923 





CONTENTS 

Page 

Preface. 7 

PART ONE 

WHY WE HAVE GOVERNMENTS 
HOW OUR OWN GOVERNMENT CAME TO BE 

Chapter I. The Background of Government. 15 

Chapter II. The Background of Our Constitution. 23 

Chapter III. The Making of Our Constitution. 38 

PART TWO 

A SIMPLE EXPLANATION OF OUR 
CONSTITUTION 

Chapter IV. Its General Nature: The Preamble. 51 

The Legislative Department 

Chapter V. Congress; The House of Representatives. 54 

Chapter VI. The Senate. 63 

Chapter VII. General Regulations Governing Both Houses. 69 

Chapter VIII. Powers Given to Congress. 79 

Chapter IX. Powers Given to Congress (Continued). 91 

Chapter X. Powers Denied Congress and the States. 106 

The Executive Department 

Chapter XI. The President and the Vice President. 116 

Chapter XII. Powers and Duties of the President. 126 

Chapter XIII. The Judicial Department. 148 

Chapter XIV. The States and the Union. 160 

Chapter XV. Method of Amendment; Supremacy of the Consti¬ 
tution; Ratification. 166 

Chapter XVI. The Amendments to the Constitution. 172 

11 



















12 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


APPENDIX 

Page 

The Declaration of Independence. 189 

The Constitution of the United States. 192 

Review Questions. 210 

A Glossal of the Terms Used in the Constitution. 215 

Index. 220 


LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

Our Capitol.Frontispiece 

Reading the Declaration of Independence. 14 

Village of an Early European Tribe. 16 

Signing the Compact in the Mayflower Cabin. 22 

Stagecoach Advertisement from an Early Newspaper. 27 

Signing the Declaration of Independence. 30 

A Part of the Declaration Manuscript. 31 

Continental Currency. 34 

Independence Hall. 39 

Meeting Room of the First National Congress. 42 

Washington Taking the Oath as First President. 47 

Airplane View of Our National Capitol. 50 

Showing the Manuscript of the Constitution. 52 

The House of Representatives.... 59 

Henry Clay Addressing the Senate. 64 

Each House Shall Keep a Journal. 72 

President Harding Signing a Bill. 76 

Helping the Government Borrow Money. 82 

United States Coast Guard Station. 83 

Ellis Island. 87 

Stamping Out Our Coins. 92 

Carrying the Mails in Frontier Days. 94 

The West Point Campus. .. 100 

The White House. 103 

United States Custom House at New York City. 110 

Specimen Presidential Election Ballot. 119 

Calvin Coolidge Being Sworn in as President. 123 

The “Constitution”. 127 

The United States Treasury Building. 129 

Roosevelt Irrigation Dam. 132 

A Cabinet Meeting. 135 

President Wilson Delivering His Famous War Message to Congress.. . 140 

Great Seal of the United States. 147 

The Supreme Court Judges. 150 

A Jury Trial. 154 

The Supreme Court Chamber. 156 

Chart of Our National Government. 159 

Territorial Capitol at Honolulu. 163 

Congressional Library. 173 

Raising the Roosevelt Memorial Flag. 178 

A View in One of Our National Parks. 182 

The Liberty Bell. 188 
















































PART ONE 


WHY WE HAVE GOVERNMENTS; HOW 
OUR OWN GOVERNMENT 
CAME TO BE 


Each one of us obtains in his schooling something 
which not he, but the community, has paid for. 
He must return it to the community in full, in the 
shape of good citizenship .—Theodore Roosevelt. 




Copyright by M. G. Abbey; from a Copley Print, copyright by Curtis and Cameron, Boston 


READING THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 



















CHAPTER I 

THE BACKGROUND OF GOVERNMENT 


Government is a contrivance of human wisdom to 
provide for human yvants. Men have a right that 
these wants should be provided for by this wisdom. 

—Edmund Burke. 


Why Governments Exist 

Because we are human beings, all of us have individual 
wants to be satisfied, and needs to be met. We must have 
food, clothing, and shelter. Otherwise, we cannot live. 

Because we live with and among other human beings, we 
have wants and needs in common with them. We must 
have help from other people, and we must also give help to 
them. Thus, at home in the family, our fathers and mothers 
do their best to see that we are saved from hunger, cold, 
fire, and disease. We, on our part, try to do our best to 
make the lives of our fathers and mothers happy and com¬ 
fortable. In the same way, in the school, on the playground, 
and in the office or the shop, we have needs that we share 
in common with other people. We speak of them as public 
needs. 

We can satisfy our public needs better by working with 
other people than by working alone. Indeed, we cannot 
satisfy fully our individual needs unless we do work together 
to meet our public needs as well. Teamwork gets results 
where the efforts of one person fail. This fact led men to 
join together into nations and to form governments as a 
means of best meeting their public needs. 

15 


16 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


The Beginnings of Government 

The human race has had to learn by long and hard ex¬ 
perience how to form and use governments. It will be 
worth our while, therefore, to find how men have learned 
a lesson of so much value to them. 

In the beginning, human beings seem to have lived 
together in small family groups. Often these families 



VILLAGE OF AN EARLY EUROPEAN TRIBE 


roamed about from place to place in search of food and 
shelter. In time, several families joined into one body so 
that they might better gain the everyday necessities of 
life, and also defend themselves more successfully against 
wild beasts and other enemies. These unions of families 
are given the name of tribes or clans. It was such tribes 
that the first white men in America found among the 
Indians. 

As the human race advanced, people settled in fixed 
places. It came about that large bodies of people inhabited 
the same region; that they were of the same race, spoke the 







BACKGROUND OF GOVERNMENT 


17 


same language, and had customs much alike. Such ties 
led them to join together in meeting their larger public 
needs. They learned that by working together they were 
able to build more permanent homes, rear families, conduct 
business, and enjoy more comforts and conveniences than 
if they stayed apart. Out of such conditions grew the next 
larger group—the nation. 

The nation must have some means of carrying out its 
purposes. To gain for the people the rights of “life, liberty, 
and the pursuit of happiness,” governments were formed 
among men. Government, then, may be thought of as 
teamwork on a large scale. Government is the people 
organized in such a way as to take care of the needs that 
are common to all—the public needs. “The legitimate 
object of government,” said Abraham Lincoln, “is to do for 
a community of people whatever they need to have done, but 
cannot do themselves in their separate individual capacities.” 
The government carries out the purposes of the nation by 
laying down certain rules of conduct (“laws”), which the 
people must obey. 

The Form of Government 

At different periods of history, men have had various 
forms of government. The form that means the most to 
us is the one known as “democracy.” In a democracy 
the people meet and decide for themselves how their public 
needs are to be met. The people make the laws. It is 
said, therefore, that in a democracy the people rule them¬ 
selves directly. For instance, all the pupils of a school 
might come together to discuss some matter of common 
interest, such as whether or not to enter a match game 
against another school. After discussion they might take 
a vote upon the question as to what to do. 



18 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


Large bodies of people, however, cannot easily get to¬ 
gether for such purposes at a given time and place. Hence, 
instead of all the people meeting to make the laws, it has 
been found desirable for the people to choose certain per¬ 
sons (“representatives”) to perform this service for them. 
To follow further the illustration used above, if the school 
were too big for all the pupils to meet, they might choose 
a representative from each room or class. These repre¬ 
sentatives could then decide the question for the school. 

This representative form of government by the people 
is called a “republic.” In the United States we have a gov¬ 
ernment of that kind. We have, as Abraham Lincoln de¬ 
clared, “a government of the people, by the people, and 
for the people.” Our government is carried on by its people 
through their chosen representatives. 

The Object of Constitutions 

We have mentioned that governments may be built 
upon different models. This fact is equally true of many 
other things. Thus, one house may have two stories, 
and another house three, or one. The architect has drawn 
a plan to fit the object in mind. Again, one automobile 
may use gasoline as its motive power, another one elec¬ 
tricity, and another one steam. The engineer has devised 
a plan to use the motive power desired. So, the form of 
a government depends upon its plan, or set of principles, 
called a “constitution.” Constitutions state what are to be 
the powers and duties of the government, and, what is per¬ 
haps as important as anything else, they state what rights 
and privileges are guaranteed to the people who are to live 
under the government. It is the Constitution of our country 
that we are to study in the later parts of this book. 


BACKGROUND OF GOVERNMENT 


19 


The Three Great Departments of Government 

If governments are to carry out their purposes well, they 
must be given a very wide range of powers and responsi¬ 
bilities. On the other hand, the lives, liberties, and prop¬ 
erty of the people governed must be made safe against 
abuse from those who are in power. As men have worked 
away at the problem of governing themselves, they have 
come upon a scheme that helps to lessen this danger. It 
consists in a separation of governmental powers into three 
main branches. 

In the first place, as we have seen, general rules of con¬ 
duct, or laws, must be laid down. Good laws must be 
made to satisfy the common needs of the people. The 
law-making division, when separated from other branches 
of governmental service, is called the “legislative” depart¬ 
ment. 

In the second place, since laws are for the common good, 
they must be really made to work if the people are to gain 
advantage from them. This fact leads to a further separa¬ 
tion of powers of government. The branch that carries out, 
or enforces, the laws is called the “executive” department. 

In the third place, it is necessary to have the laws under¬ 
stood by all. The old saying is, “many men of many minds.” 
People differ in their opinions as to the meaning of laws, 
and even as to whether laws have been obeyed or not. 
Some way must be found by which these differences of 
opinion may be settled, and all the people know what the 
meaning (“interpretation”) of the law is. This necessity 
has led to a still further division of governmental powers, 
and to the organization of the “judicial” department. 
This branch of government is composed of bodies of judges 
(“courts”) who interpret the laws and punish offenders. 


20 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


There have come into existence, then, three great depart¬ 
ments of government: legislative (law-making), executive 
(law-enforcing), and judicial (law-interpreting). 

The Federal Type of Government 

The government of the United States, as set up by the 
people in the Constitution, is a republic. More than that, 
it is a republic made up by a union of the people of forty- 
eight other republics (“States”). The single government 
formed when our several States were joined together is 
called a “federal republic,” for “federal” means “separate 
States joined together.” For that reason, we often speak of 
the government of the United States as the “federal govern¬ 
ment.” We shall see, as we go further into the subject, that 
the Federal Government deals (1) with foreign nations, and 
(2) with all other public needs that can be met only through 
united action by the people of the country taken as a whole. 
Each State deals with public needs that can be met through 
action by the people of the one State, and that do not call 
for united action by the people of the country as a whole. 

We Americans, then, live under two separate systems 
of government—Federal and State. These governments 
run so smoothly that we allow ourselves at times almost 
to forget that we have governments at all. We must not 
forget, for we are active members of these two govern¬ 
ments. We have formed them. We own them. We are 
bound to see that they meet our public needs well. We 
gain great benefits from both of our two systems of gov¬ 
ernment. We owe, in return, a patriotic duty both to 
State and Nation. 


BACKGROUND OF GOVERNMENT 


21 


Questions and Problems 

1. What do you think would happen if we had no government? 

2. What other forms of governments are there besides republics? 

Show how they differ from ours. 

3. What other countries are republics? 

4. If you belong to a club, tell about its laws as laid down in its 

constitution. 

5. What would you give as examples of the three departments of 

government: (a) in your home life; ( b ) in your school life? 

6. Under what two systems of government do we live? With what 

matters, in general, does each deal? 

Suggested Activities 

1. Make a list of several common or public needs that you can think 
’ of: 

(а) in the family 

(б) in the school 

(c) on the playground 

( d ) in the office or the shop. 

From these lists, show how common or public needs cannot be met 
alone by an individual. Show how they can be met when several persons 
unite for that purpose. 

2. Make a list of several common or public needs of: 

(а) the tribe (for example, an Indian tribe) 

(б) the state or nation. 

From these lists, show why governments came into existence. 

Topic References 

Adams: A Community Civics , Chapter IV. 

Davis-McClure: Our Government, Chapters 1 and 6, and pages 136- 
139. 

Tufts: The Real Business of Living , Chapter 37. 

Hayes: American Democracy, pages 112-113. 

Hughes: Community Civics, pages 11-16. 

Hughes: Elementary Community Civics, Chapter I. 

Jenks-Smith: We and Our Government, Chapter 1. 

Mavity and Mavity: Responsible Citizenship, pages 54-57. 
Waterloo: The Story of Ah. (Fiction.) 



SIGNING THE COMPACT IN THE MAYFLOWER CABIN 






CHAPTER II 

THE BACKGROUND OF OUR CONSTITUTION 


Yesterday the greatest question was decided that 
was ever debated in America; and a greater, perhaps, 
never was nor -will be decided among men. A resolu¬ 
tion was passed without one dissenting colony, that 
these United Colonies are and of a right ought to be 
free and independent States .—John Adams, in a letter 
to Airs. Adams, July 3, 1776. 


“Out of Many, One” 

Glance at a half-dollar and find the words E Pluribus 
Unum. Have you ever stopped to question what that 
inscription means? 

We learned in Chapter I that the government under 
which we live is based upon a federal union. The inscrip¬ 
tion on the coin bears witness to the fact that a union has 
been formed. It means “Out of Many, One.” 

The Roots of Our Government 

It was not easy to form this federal union of ours. The 
Federal Government was not born in a day. It is, indeed, 
deeply rooted in the past. Men had first to learn by pain 
and suffering down through the centuries how to govern 
themselves. Our form of government is so priceless a 
gift to us who inherit it that, surely, we must wish to know 
all we can about it—why it was formed; how it was made; 
who made it; how it serves us; and how we may and should 

23 


24 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


serve it. We can get a larger and better understanding 
of these matters if we take a look backward into our history. 

The Rise of Self-Government in the Colonies 

To govern themselves as they chose was one of the impor¬ 
tant reasons why Englishmen left their native land to face 
the perils of life in the unknown New World. 

The “Pilgrim Fathers’’ came ashore at Plymouth, on the 
present Massachusetts coast, on December 21, 1620. 
Before landing, these liberty-loving men met in the cabin 
of their famous ship, the Mayflower, and drew up and 
signed a written agreement to form their own government. 
In this agreement, called the “Mayflower Compact,” the 
Pilgrims promised that they would obey the laws laid 
down by themselves as members of that government. 
This “Compact” has been called the first written consti¬ 
tution in history. Under this form of self-government 
the Plymouth colony lived throughout the first years of 
hardship, and grew into a flourishing settlement. 

Many of the other early colonies started under written 
documents (“charters”), issued by the British govern¬ 
ment, granting to the colonists the right to settle in territory 
belonging to that government. Because of the rights 
given them by their charters, the colonists for a full cen¬ 
tury and more had a large share in the actual management 
of their own public affairs. They gained constant drill 
and exercise in the art of making laws and applying them. 
Thus, in Virginia, the original charter gave the colonists 
all the rights and privileges of Englishmen. Under this 
charter they chose representatives to the first law-making 
body (“legislature”) to meet in America. This body, 
known as the “House of Burgesses,” assembled at James- 


CONSTITUTION BACKGROUND 


25 


town in 1619. Again, in the New England colonies, the 
“town meeting,” composed of the men of each local settle¬ 
ment, passed laws for the people of each town, and elected 
men to carry out those laws. The representatives to the 
legislature of each colony were chosen by the towns. 

The colonists naturally clung to these charters as being 
very precious. They did not wish their freedom to be 
taken away, and when the “mother country” began to 
interfere with these privileges (which she did as time went 
on), the colonists stood manfully for their liberties. Once, 
for instance, Sir Edmund Andros, acting for the British 
King, attempted to seize the charter of Connecticut. On 
his orders the charter was brought out. It was night, and 
suddenly in the midst of the meeting, the lights were put 
out by the angry colonists; before they could be made 
to glow again, the charter had been snatched away. It was 
taken and hidden in a hollow oak tree, known to this day 
as the “Charter Oak.” 

A story like that helps us to see how strongly the colonists 
were attached to their liberties, and how stoutly they re¬ 
sisted all attacks upon their rights of self-government. 
Although changes did come about, the colonists continued, 
on the whole, to keep a firm hold on their own public affairs. 
The people in each colony had much training in self-govern¬ 
ment, because they elected their representatives to one branch 
of the colony’s law-making body. Moreover, the branch 
to which the people elected their representatives was the 
one that voted the money (“taxes”) to pay the expenses 
of government. It was the branch, also, that decided for 
what purposes the tax money should be used. These are 
very great powers. It is said that the person who holds 
the purse is the one who really rules. The people in the 
colonies, therefore, by means of their representatives, had 


26 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


a very large share in their own government. This practice 
and training in self-government over so long a period was of 
the utmost value to them when separation from England 
took place. 


Hindrances to Colonial Union 

We have said that it was not easy to bind these thirteen 
colonies together into a union. The colonists, it is true, 
had many interests that tended to draw them together, but 
almost as many that tended to pull them apart. It is true 
that they thought of themselves as members of one large 
family. They came chiefly of the same race, used a com¬ 
mon language, and were bound by ties of loyalty to the 
British nation. 

Nevertheless, the colonies were separate and distinct 
from each other in affairs of government. They were 
divided from each other by long distances, and were kept 
from knowing each other well by the extreme difficulties 
of travel and transportation, and by the imperfect means 
of communication. The railroad, the steamboat, the 
automobile, the paved highway, the telegraph, telephone, 
and radio did not yet exist. Travel by land was on foot, 
on horseback, or in lumbering stagecoaches over nearly 
impassable roads. Travel by water was on sailing vessels, 
subject to countless delays and dangers. It took a day 
and a half for the fastest coach, advertised as the “Flying 
Machine,” to go the ninety miles from New York to Phila¬ 
delphia. (It takes nowadays two hours, or less, by rail¬ 
road train.) Naturally it came about that life in one 
colony became more and more unlike that in another. 
As a result, local patriotism was strong, while a larger love 
of country was weak. Among many of the colonies there 


CONSTITUTION BACKGROUND 


27 



T H IS is to inform the public, that aStage.wili be perform¬ 
ed from Paw jests Hook, opposite New -York, to Philadel¬ 
phia, in the following manne*, viz. Mr. John Merfereau’s wag- 


STAGECOACH ADVERTISEMENT 
FROM AN EARLY PHILADELPHIA NEWSPAPER 


were bitter jealousies, and quarrels were frequent. The 
colonies were almost like separate nations. 

These conditions might have kept the thirteen colonies 
from ever becoming united had it not been for the pressure 
of a grave peril to which all alike were exposed. This 
peril was the harsh measures of the British government. 
The common struggle against these measures finally bound 
the colonies in a closer relationship than they had ever 
known before. Out of this struggle grew a union of States 
which, through many trials, has grown to be the great nation 
of which we are so proud. 


Grievances against the British Government 

Various laws were passed by the British government 
between 1760 and 1776 that were aimed to get money from 
the colonists, and to restrict their trade and manufactures— 
among them the Stamp Act, the Townshend Acts, the Sugar 


















28 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


Acts, and the Tea Tax. The very fact that the colonists 
were fully accustomed to tax themselves, through their rep¬ 
resentatives in the colonial legislatures, made them feel 
keenly their grievances against the British government when 
they were taxed without their own consent. They cried out 
that “Taxation without representation is tyranny.” At 
Boston, resistance to the Tea Tax led a band of men, dressed 
like Indians, to go on board some ships loaded with tea, 
and to empty the tea into the water (the famous “Boston 
Tea Party”). To punish Boston for this deed, the British 
government passed the so-called “Intolerable Acts,” taking 
away from the people many of their old-time privileges. 
“Red-coats” (British soldiers) were sent to overawe the 
people of Boston, and warships closed the harbor so that 
trade could not be carried on. 

The other colonies sympathized with Massachusetts. It 
was time for all to forget their differences and to join in a 
common cause in defense of the liberties they cherished. 

The First Continental Congress 

The beginning of united effort on the part of all the 
colonies grew out of the situation just described. Virginia 
was the first colony to suggest a meeting of representatives 
from the several colonies for the purpose of protesting 
against the unjust treatment. The actual call for such a 
meeting was sent forth by Massachusetts. This assem¬ 
blage—known as the first Continental Congress—met in 
Philadelphia in the year 1774. The Congress went on 
record with resolutions upholding the rights of the colonists, 
and asking for the repeal of British laws which violated 
those rights. Before it adjourned, the Congress arranged 
for a meeting of a similar body in the following year. 


CONSTITUTION BACKGROUND 


29 


The Second Continental Congress 

The second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia 
in May, 1775. The battles of Concord and Lexington 
and Bunker Hill had already been fought. “The shot 
heard round the world’’ had already been fired. 

The delegates to the Congress came from every one of 
the thirteen colonies. Hoping against hope that peace 
might still be brought about, the Congress first drew up a 
petition to the British government. The peace terms pro¬ 
posed in it were not even given a hearing by King George. 
War was the only answer. 

Those were days that “tried men’s souls.” The Congress 
set itself with intelligence and courage to the mighty task 
of defending the colonies against British attack. It made 
plans for an army and a navy. On motion of Massachusetts, 
the Congress appointed a Virginian, George Washington, 
commander of the American troops. 

On July 4, 1776, Congress adopted the Declaration of 
Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson of Virginia. 
The men in the Congress knew that, in signing the Declara¬ 
tion, they were taking their lives in their hands. Yet 
liberty for themselves, and for us who have come after 
them, and for our children through all time to come, meant 
more to them than their lives. They signed, not knowing 
whether they should die or live; and they signed with a 
cool heroism in keeping with their high resolve.* John 
Hancock of Massachusetts, President of the Congress, 
wrote his name at the top of the list in large letters. As he 
wrote, it is said that he exclaimed, “There; George III can 
read that without the aid of his spectacles.” While the dele¬ 
gates were signing, one of them remarked, “Now, we must 


* The Declaration was not actually signed until a few days later than July 4th. 



30 


OUR CONSTITUTION 



SIGNING THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 

all hang together.” Benjamin Franklin replied with 
ready wit, “Indeed we must, or assuredly we shall all 
hang separately.” 

The news that the Congress had taken this serious step 
spread quickly among the people. The old bell hanging 
in the belfry of the hall in which Congress sat pealed forth 
the joyous tidings. “Liberty Bell” it is named to this 
day. Men on horseback rode furiously in all directions 
carrying copies of the Declaration. Everywhere the 
people received the word with rejoicing. 

This immortal Declaration is the cornerstone of our 
existence as a united people. It gave a title to the new 
nation, the “United States of America.” It said, in lan¬ 
guage never to be forgotten by Americans, that “all men 
are created equal,” and that governments derive “their 
just powers from the consent of the governed.” 





CONSTITUTION BACKGROUND 


31 


The Congress advised the people of the several colonies to 
form governments as separate, self-governing States. 
Here the long experience of the colonists in self-government, 
extending, as we have seen, over a century and more, 
proved of great usefulness to them. The royal governors 
and other agents of Great Britain in the colonies had already 


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A PART OF THE DECLARATION MANUSCRIPT 


been driven from their offices. The whole structure of 
government would have tumbled if the colonists had not 
known by practice how to conduct their own public affairs. 
In each colony the people proceeded to draw up written 
constitutions to establish their State governments. In 
several instances they merely took their ancient charters 
as constitutions, and changed them to fit their needs. In 
other cases they wrote new constitutions. These State 
constitutions, like the Declaration of Independence, em- 




























32 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


phasized the great personal rights of men, and prohibited 
interference with these rights. They divided the work of 
government among three chief departments: legislative (law¬ 
making), executive (law-enforcing), and judicial (law-inter¬ 
preting). (See page 19.) This past experience of the colonists 
in forming and carrying on State governments had a large 
influence upon the founders of the federal Constitution 
when they came to establish the government under which 
we now live. 

Finally, among its great tasks, the second Continental 
Congress worked out a plan of union among the thirteen 
States. This agreement among the States is the first 
written constitution of the “united” States. The agree¬ 
ment is called the “Articles of Confederation.” When 
the Articles were accepted by the last State in 1781, the 
second Continental Congress went out of existence, and 
the Congress of the Confederation took its place. 

The Articles of Confederation 

The Articles of Confederation set up a central govern¬ 
ment, called a Congress, of one branch or house, composed 
of delegates from each of the States. Each State had equal 
voting power with every other one, regardless of size or 
population. Congress was granted many important pow¬ 
ers—legislative, executive, and judicial. However, it was 
allowed no means of compelling obedience to its wishes, 
but had to depend upon the States for action. The mem¬ 
bers of Congress owed their first duty, not to the united 
government, but to the States from which they came. Con¬ 
gress could “declare everything, but do nothing.” The 
union was little better than a “rope of sand.” Freedom 
had come, but the colonies were far from being a nation. 


CONSTITUTION BACKGROUND 


33 


The Critical Period 

This time was so full of troubles for our people that it 
has rightly been called the “Critical Period.” It is well for 
us to know about this period, for Americans had to go 
through a very unhappy experience before they learned the 
absolute and compelling need of “a more perfect Union.” 
Let us, then, review the circumstances. 

The common struggle against the British had partly 
put to rest the many jealousies among the colonies of which 
we have spoken earlier in this chapter. But as soon as 
the war was ended by the Treaty of Peace in 1783, the old 
quarrels broke out afresh. If it had been thought that an 
era of quiet, good will, and prosperity would follow the 
coming of peace, such hopes were soon dashed to the ground. 
Instead of prosperity, a period of hard times set in; instead 
of quiet, a period of disorder. Virginia and Maryland 
nearly came to blows over the navigation of the Potomac. 
New York laid a tax upon vegetables and butter and cheese 
entering from her neighbor, New Jersey. In return, New 
Jersey placed a tax upon a lighthouse on her shore, owned 
by the city of New York and useful to ships sailing into 
New York harbor. Many such examples of petty quarrel- 
ings among the States could be given. Each State seemed 
determined to care for its own selfish interests, without 
regard to the welfare of the country as a whole. 

Congress was too feeble to deal successfully with the 
evils and dangers of the times. It failed both in the han¬ 
dling of our relations with foreign countries, and in remedy¬ 
ing conditions at home. 

To begin with, Congress lacked power to deal effectively 
with important foreign questions as they arose. Thus, 
when England refused to withdraw her soldiers from the 
frontier forts in the Northwest that she had agreed to give 


34 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


up at the close of the war, Congress was too weak to en¬ 
force American rights. Again, when Spain warned that 
she was going to close the mouth of the Mississippi River 
to American trade, Congress was unable to make favorable 
commercial arrangements with her. Abroad, the Congress 
of the Confederation was held in contempt. 

Furthermore, at home the situation was most grave. 
Congress had to depend upon the States for money with 
which to pay its expenses. When the States refused to 

meet its requests for 

money, as they frequent¬ 
ly did, Congress had no 
means of carrying on the 
business of government. 
Congress owed a heavy 
debt, both to citizens 
within the States, and to 

friends in foreign lands. 

Even the payments of 

interest on this debt could scarcely be met. The patriotic 

soldiers of the Revolution were sent home unpaid. The 

paper money that Congress had issued during the war had 
sunk in value until no one would accept it. Public respect 
for the central government was at a low ebb. 

The weakness of Congress was made pitifully clear in 
other ways. It could raise an army only by asking the 
States to supply the troops, and this they were unwilling 
to do. As a result, Congress was not even strong enough 
to put down revolt. Once it had to flee from Philadel¬ 
phia to the college halls at Princeton when a small band of 
mutinous soldiers broke into the meeting-place and at the 
point of the bayonet demanded their pay. Again, Con¬ 
gress was unable to lend help when armed bodies of men in 































CONSTITUTION BACKGROUND 


35 


Massachusetts, under leadership of Captain Daniel Shays, 
seemed about to start a civil war. It was all too clear that 
the power of Congress was but a shadow or a dream. 

To add to the difficulties, it was almost impossible to 
increase the authority of the central government. The 
Articles of Confederation could be changed, it is true, but 
a change (“amendment”) required unanimous consent of 
the States. One State or another was always found ready 
to refuse acceptance of any proposed change. All attempts 
to amend the Articles failed. 

Men in foreign countries predicted that the infant States 
would break up in conflict among themselves and be seized 
by European nations. Many patriotic men in America 
felt that the country was rushing headlong toward disaster 
and ruin. Washington declared. “We are one State today, 
and thirteen tomorrow.” 

The Movement Toward a Stronger Government 

It was at this menacing moment that two young men 
started a movement which finally brought order out of 
confusion. They were James Madison, of Virginia, and 
Alexander Hamilton, of New York. Madison was guided 
to a large extent by the advice of Washington. These men 
wished to see the central government given larger authority 
to do its work. It is worth while for us to follow the steps 
in this movement toward a stronger government. 

The great Revolutionary general, Washington, had been 
deeply interested since early manhood in the development 
of the country west of the Alleghenies. At the close of the 
war, as the tides of immigration began to pour over the 
mountain barriers, Washington saw the absolute necessity 
of establishing easy means of travel and communication 


3G 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


between the old settlements and the new. Otherwise, the 
two sections would surely break apart. Therefore, he 
urged with all his might that the upper parts of the Potomac 
be opened to navigation, since at that point the streams 
flowing east nearly meet those flowing west, and thus form 
a natural means of connection between the seaboard and 
the mighty interior valley. 

Inasmuch as Virginia lay on one bank of the Potomac 
and Maryland on the other, the project of extending the 
navigation of the river demanded the joint action of these 
States. They were persuaded to appoint commissioners 
to discuss the scheme. These men met early in 1785 at 
Alexandria, Virginia, and were invited as guests to the 
home of Washington at Mt. Vernon. They drew up an 
agreement; moreover, they decided that they would ask 
the State of Pennsylvania to join them, because her in¬ 
terests also were involved. 

The next step was a convention at Annapolis, Maryland, 
in September, 1786, to which all thirteen States had been 
invited to send delegates for the discussion of questions of 
trade. Delegates from only five States appeared. While 
this fact was discouraging, and the delegates were unable 
to accomplish immediate results, yet the Annapolis con¬ 
vention carried the movement forward. Madison attended. 
Alexander Hamilton came as a delegate from New York. 
He presented an address in which the States w.ere urged to 
hold a second convention with the object not merely of 
discussing the regulation of commerce, but also of working 
out such other plans as should appear to them necessary for 
the general public welfare. 

This address was adopted by the conference and sent to 
the States. Congress, fearful that the country was headed 
toward ruin, gave its consent for a convention to be called 


CONSTITUTION BACKGROUND 


37 


to revise the Articles of Confederation. One by one the 
States were persuaded to fall in line and choose delegates to 
represent them—all but little Rhode Island, which stayed 
out to the end. 

Questions and Problems 

1. How did the Pilgrims show their need of and respect for law? 

2. Why were the colonists so well fitted to govern themselves? 

3. In what ways may you be training yourself now for your own 

future self-government, and for your part in governing your 
country? 

4. Give reasons for saying that our country is smaller today than 

it was in 1775. 

5. Why was the signing of the Declaration of Independence such 

a courageous act? 

6. By what means can 110,000,000 people spread over such a vast 

territory be so closely united? 

7. Quote as much as you can of the Declaration. 

Suggested Activities 

1. Look up material on the New England town meeting, and write 

a paper on it. 

2. Find out whether there are any kinds of charters granted today. 

3. Read with special care the first two paragraphs of the Declara¬ 

tion and answer these questions: (1) Why are governments 
formed among men? (2) Who give governments their 
powers? (3) When do people have a right to change their 
governments? (See Appendix, page 189.) 

4. Ask your father to explain to you why paper money is some¬ 

times worthless and sometimes as good as gold. 

5. Prepare a two minute talk on the ideals of the Puritans. 

Topic References 

Beard and Bagley: The History of the American People, pages 98-103, 
108-114, 164-167, and Chapter VII. 

Fiske: The Critical Period of American History, pages 220-344. 
Foote and Skinner: Explorers and Founders of America, pages ISO- 
137, 253-260. 

Halleck: History of Our Country, pages 50-51, 74-76, 83, 91, 215-219 
and Chapter XI. 

Southworth: Builders of Our Country, Book II, pages 1-23. 

Tappan: Letters from Colonial Children. 

West: A Source Book in American History to 1787, pages 106-129. 


CHAPTER III 

THE MAKING OF OUR CONSTITUTION 


It will be the wonder and admiration of all future 
generations and the model of all future constitutions. 
—William Pitt, the great English statesman. 


Importance of the Constitutional Convention 

The convention met in Independence Hall, in Phila¬ 
delphia, a plain brick building already reverenced by Amer¬ 
icans as the place where the Declaration of Independence 
was drawn up and first announced to the world. ‘‘The 
work which these men were undertaking,” says John Fiske, 
the great historian, “was to determine whether that Dec¬ 
laration had been for the blessing or the injury of America 
and of mankind.” 

The “Constitutional Convention,’’ as it is spoken of, 
was the most memorable gathering in the history of our 
country, perhaps the most important in the history of the 
world. It met in May, 1787. When all the members 
were present, there were fifty-five names on the roll. 

Membership of the Convention 

Several of the illustrious figures of the Revolution were 
missing from the company. Samuel Adams, the great 
Massachusetts patriot, was opposed to the idea of a general 
revision of the Articles of Confederation. Patrick Henry, 
the celebrated Virginia orator, though elected by his State, 

38 


MAKING OUR CONSTITUTION 


39 



INDEPENDENCE HALL IN 1787 


was unwilling to take part. John Adams and Thomas 
Jefferson were serving the central government in foreign 
lands. The most distinguished citizen of Rhode Island, 
General Nathanael Greene, had recently been carried to 
the grave. 

Yet it was an assemblage of men better fitted for such a 
task than any similar body that has ever met at one time 
and place. The delegates were men of splendid character 
and great natural ability, of superior education, and of 
wide experience. Among the number were many graduates 
of colleges and universities, abroad and at home. Among 
them were many who had been leaders on the field of battle, 
governors of States, representatives in Congress, and judges 
of courts. Among them were teachers, preachers, lawyers, 
farmers, and business men. All had served their country 
well, and many were to devote their lives to illustrious 
public service under the new system of government they 
were about to build. 

















40 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


The Makers of the Constitution 

In this Convention sat George Washington, who had come 
forth again, at the call of his country, from his beloved 
home at Mt. Vernon, where he had planned to occupy his 
remaining years in the management of his Virginia estate. 
The people had complete faith in his lofty character and 
sound judgment, and now relied upon him as much to rescue 
them from the trials and dangers of peace, as they had relied 
upon him in war. Washington was chosen presiding officer 
of the Convention, and guided it through the stormy de¬ 
liberations with dignity and calm. His influence was ever 
felt as the Convention proceeded with its well-nigh impossible 
task. “Let us raise a standard to which the wise and 
the honest can repair,” was Washington’s appeal to the 
Convention. 

Benjamin Franklin represented that great State of Penn¬ 
sylvania to which he had come as a poor, unknown boy nearly 
three quarters of a century before. Now in his eighty-sec¬ 
ond year, he was known in every part of the globe. Perhaps 
no other man in the Convention was so ripe in wisdom and 
practical knowledge of public affairs as he. No other man 
was more greatly respected. Among his most notable serv¬ 
ices to his country, Franklin had signed the Declaration of 
Independence, had brought about the alliance with France 
during the Revolution, and had been one of the American 
commissioners to draw up the treaty of peace with Great 
Britain. Feeble in body, he now was called upon to make 
his last great contribution to the good of his country by 
serving as a member of the Constitutional Convention. 
Franklin’s ready, practical suggestions served many times 
to relieve the heat of debate. He was, in fact, the balance- 
wheel of the Convention; and, at the end, the address he 


MAKING OUR CONSTITUTION 


41 


delivered led many to sign who had hesitated and might 
have finally refused. 

Alexander Hamilton, the young, brilliant, and devoted 
patriot, represented New York State. In contrast with 
Franklin, he was only thirty years of age. Born on an 
island of the West Indies, he had come early in life to New 
York City, and been graduated from King’s College (now 
Columbia). He had gained distinction in Washington’s army 
during the Revolutionary War. As a keen thinker, Hamil¬ 
ton was unrivaled; as an orator, unsurpassed. Hamilton, 
with Madison, had taken a leading part in bringing the 
Convention together. (See pages 35-36.) He presented 
many ideas to the Convention, and took a leading part in 
bringing about the adoption of the Constitution by the 
people. As the first Secretary of the Treasury, under Presi¬ 
dent Washington, he placed the finances of the country on a 
solid foundation. Daniel Webster said of him: “He 
touched the dead body of the public credit, and it sprang 
upon its feet.” 

In the Convention also sat James Madison from Virginia. 
With Hamilton, as we have seen, he had striven earnestly 
to have the Convention called. He was a graduate of 
Princeton. Madison had so much influence in the forma¬ 
tion of the new plan of government in the Convention, and 
in its later acceptance by the people, that he is sometimes 
referred to as the “Father of the Constitution.” He did 
not miss a meeting of the Convention and kept a daily 
record of the proceedings. This Journal is now priceless, 
because of the light it throws on the men of the Convention 
and their work. Madison became our fourth President. 
In 1836, at the age of eighty-five, he closed his long and 
useful career, the last survivor of the notable men who had 
framed the Constitution. 


42 


OUR CONSTITUTION 



ROOM IN WHICH THE FIRST NATIONAL CONGRESS MET, 

IN NEW YORK CITY 

Washington, Franklin, Hamilton, and Madison were 
the four towering figures of the Convention. Many other 
able men took part. Roger Sherman of Connecticut, 
John Rutledge of South Carolina, George Read of Delaware, 
James Wilson of Pennsylvania, born and educated in Scot¬ 
land, and Robert Morris of Pennsylvania were signers of the 
Declaration of Independence. Wilson was the great lawyer 
of the Convention. Morris had saved Washington’s army 
by raising money to keep it supplied with food and ammuni¬ 
tion. He was an expert on matters of finance. William 
R. Davie of North Carolina was a graduate of Princeton, 
and a soldier of the Revolution. Later, he was to be 
governor of his State, and founder of its university. John 
Dickinson of Delaware was a lawyer and writer. Caleb 
Strong and Rufus King of Massachusetts were both grad- 








MAKING OUR CONSTITUTION 


43 


uates of Harvard College, and both were afterward United 
States senators. Charles Cotesworth Pinckney of South 
Carolina (graduate of Oxford University, England) had been 
a major-general in the Revolution; Charles Pinckney, of the 
same State, became a United States senator. Oliver Ells¬ 
worth of Connecticut was to be the second Chief Justice 
of our Supreme Court. Abraham Baldwin of Georgia 
(graduate of Yale College), a chaplain in the Revolutionary 
army, served as a United States senator. John Langdon 
and Nicholas Gilman of New Hampshire had fought against 
the British, and were to represent their States in the Senate. 
Jonathan Dayton of New Jersey, an officer in the Revolu¬ 
tion, became Speaker of the House of Representatives and 
a United States senator. James McHenry of Maryland, 
born in Ireland, w T as later Secretary of War under Presi¬ 
dent Washington. These men, and the others who sat 
with them, are worthy of our highest regard. 

Drafting the Constitution 

The Convention remained in session behind closed doors 
for a little more than four months. The members were 
pledged to secrecy; so just what was said and done was 
not made known until fifty years had passed. Madison's 
record of the proceedings was not published while he lived. 
From his Journal we learn the eventful story of what 
took place. 

In view of the crisis under which they met, the dele¬ 
gates decided at the very start that they must go beyond 
the point of submitting only limited changes in the Articles 
of Confederation. The condition of the country made 
them feel the necessity of building a wholly new frame¬ 
work of government. This decision resulted in their 


44 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


drafting the original Constitution of the United States 
beneath which, as amended since from time to time, we 
continue to live. 


The Compromises 

The Convention was divided into two main groups: 
those members who desired the central government to have 
broad powers over the people and the States; and those 
who desired to have the chief powers belong to the States. 
The existence of these two distinct points of view led to 
serious disagreement among the delegates. Passions rose 
so high in the debates that the Convention at one point, 
as Luther Martin of Maryland expressed it, “scarce held 
together by the strength of a hair.” 

Finally, the delegates from Connecticut suggested a 
plan, the famous “Connecticut Compromise,” by which a 
fair way out of the difficulties might be found. Wise old 
Franklin of Pennsylvania drew a simple illustration of 
the meaning of a “compromise” from the carpenter at 
the bench. “When a joiner wishes to fit two boards, he 
sometimes pares off a bit from both,” he said. The mem¬ 
bers caught the idea. They began to “give and take,” 
with the result that they drew up a series of compromises 
which paved the way for them to clear all matters in dis¬ 
pute. The compromises laid the foundation of the gov¬ 
ernment that was to be. 

Nature of the New Government 

The Convention proceeded to give powers to the new 
government that would make it solid and strong. Its 
laws were to be commands that individual citizens must 


MAKING OUR CONSTITUTION 


45 


obey. In contrast with the old government under the Arti- 
cles, the new one was to exercise real authority over the 
American people, at first hand. It would not have to depend 
upon the States in carrying out its will. 

The Convention decided that the Constitution should be 
presented to the Congress of the Confederation, and then 
be submitted to the States that they might take action upon 
it. As soon as the people of nine States had accepted the 
plan through conventions called for the purpose, the new 
government should go into effect. 

The Close of the Convention 

The task of preparing the Constitution in written form 
from the material agreed upon by the delegates was en¬ 
trusted to Gouverneur Morris, skilled in the writing of 
English. When he had completed his task, the great docu¬ 
ment was ready for the delegates to sign. The aged Franklin 
now made an impressive appeal, which James Wilson read 
for him, as his voice was weak. He said that some parts of 
the Constitution were not approved by him, yet he would 
sign it because he believed such a course was for the public 
good; and he asked all other members to follow his lead. 
A very few delegates, however, still withheld their names. 
The number that signed was thirty-one. The date was 
September 17, 1787. 

An impressive moment came when the Convention drew 
near to a close. Many of the members felt strongly the 
solemn nature of the hour. Washington sat with head 
bowed in deep thought. Franklin had a final message to 
give, of which Madison wrote in his Journal: 

Whilst the last members were signing, Doctor Franklin, looking 
toward the president’s chair, at the back of which a rising sun happened 


46 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


to be painted, observed to a few members near him, that painters had 
found it difficult to distinguish, in their art, a rising, from a setting, 
sun. “I have,” said he, “often and often, in the course of the session, 
and the vicissitudes of my hopes and fears as to its issue, looked at 
that behind the president, without being able to tell whether it was 
rising or setting. But now, at length, I have the happiness to know 
that it is a rising, and not a setting, sun.” 


Adoption of the Constitution 

A vigorous campaign was waged by opponents of the 
Constitution to prevent its adoption. Widespread dis¬ 
cussion continued for several months. Hamilton, Madison, 
and Jay wrote papers in effective support. These articles 
were afterward collected under the title of “The Federalist,” 
and give us a better idea of the provisions of the Constitu¬ 
tion than we get from any other source. 

Pennsylvania was the first of the large States to vote in 
favor of the “New Roof,” as the Constitution was wittily 
described. A long and bitter contest followed in Massachu¬ 
setts, and she fell into line only by a narrow margin. In 
Virginia, acceptance came only after a hard fight. 

In the meantime, all the other States save New York, 
North Carolina, and Rhode Island, had voted to accept the 
Constitution. New York held aloof; and, lacking New 
York, as a glance at the map will show, the new nation 
would be cut in two. 

It was most important to gain New York. But there the 
outlook was dark indeed. When the State convention met, 
two thirds of its members were bitterly opposed to ratifica¬ 
tion. It was then that the genius of Hamilton burst into 
full strength. He was a member of the Convention, and 
with marvelous brilliancy of oratory, day after day, week 
after week, he fought the enemies of the Constitution. At 


MAKING OUR CONSTITUTION 


47 


length, lie conquered. The New York convention accepted 
the Constitution by a majority of three votes. This was one 
of Hamilton’s great¬ 
est services to his 
adopted land. 

By July, 1788, 
eleven States had 
ratified the Consti¬ 
tution. Everywhere 
there was tremend¬ 
ous rejoicing. In the 
words of John Adams, 
now “the clocks all 
struck together.” 

The Congress of the 
Confederation closed 
its troubled career by 
issuing a call to set 
in motion the ma¬ 
chinery of the new 
government estab¬ 
lished by the Con¬ 
stitution. On the 
14th day of April, 1789, Washington was notified of his 
election as our first President. He took the oath of office 
in New York City, which was then our capital. The first 
national Congress met in New York. Next year the Con¬ 
gress moved to Philadelphia. Ten years later, in 1800, it 
held its first session in Washington. 

In this way it came about that the country in which we 
live is “one” whole, a single, federal nation, made up of 
“many” parts, the several States with their people. 

E Pluribus Unum —“Out of Many” had come “One.” 



WASHINGTON TAKING THE OATH AS 
FIRST PRESIDENT 










48 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


Questions and Problems 

1. Can you think of any reasons for believing that our government 

will last for many centuries to come? 

2. Why is the Constitution that our nation’s founders drew up such 

a wonderful document? 

3. What needs was the Constitution planned to meet? 

4. Explain clearly the meaning of compromise. 

5. Why did the Constitution have to be ratified by only nine 

states? 

Suggested Activities 

1. As a member of the Constitutional Convention, deliver a four- 

minute talk in support of a strong federal government. 

2. Dramatize the closing scene of the Convention. 

3. Draw a cartoon to picture some one of the advantages to be had 

by getting under the “New Roof.” 

4. As a member of the State convention of New York, reply to an 

attack upon the Constitution by one of the opponents of 
Hamilton. 


Topic References 

Beard and Bagley: The History of the American People, pages 167- 
176. 

Fiske: The Critical Period in American History, Chapters VI and 

VII. 

Foote and Skinner: Explorers and Founders of America, pages 
261-270. 

Halleck: History of Our Country, pages 220-229. 

Hart: American History Told by Contemporaries, Vol. Ill, pages 
205-211, 221-228. 

Southworth: Builders of Our Country, Book II, pages 24-60, 75-80, 
97-111. 

Sparks: Men Who Made the Nation, pages 151-178. 

West: A Source Book in American History to 1787, Part XXVII, 
pages 506-575. 


PART TWO 


A SIMPLE EXPLANATION OF 
OUR CONSTITUTION 


Give me a boy or girl who loves the flag and what 
it symbolizes; a love that is not blind or forced, but 
one that is full of understanding and devotion; a 
love that makes the heart beat fast and strengthens 
the will for the supreme sacrifice—and I say to you, 
there you have the making of the essential citizen¬ 
ship of our great American democracy. 

—S. C. Kohs. 




AIRPLANE VIEW OF OUR NATIONAL CAPITOL 


















CHAPTER IV 

GENERAL NATURE OF THE CONSTITUTION: 

THE PREAMBLE 


It is, sir, the people’s Constitution, the people’s 
government, made for the people, made by the people, 
and answerable to the people .—Daniel Webster. 


The Constitution of the United States is a brief, written 
document which will take you perhaps thirty minutes to 
read aloud.* Is it not interesting to know that this docu¬ 
ment is the oldest written constitution now in use? The 
people of many other countries have made it the model for 
their own governments. Should we not be happy that we 
have been able to assist them in this way, and proud as well? 

The Constitution is made up of the Preamble, the seven 
Articles (sub-divided usually into sections, and again into 
clauses!), and the nineteen Amendments (many of which 
are subdivided likewise). The original copy and amend¬ 
ments are kept among the records of the Department of 
State, in the Library of Congress, at Washington. 

The “people of the United States” agree in the Constitu¬ 
tion to form a union for the purpose of safeguarding and 
advancing their common interests. The Constitution gives 
an outline of the organization of the government needful 
to carry the desired union into effect. It names and limits 

*Take thirty minutes to get a bird’s-eye view of the Constitution by reading it 
throughout. See Appendix. 

t In the actual text of the Constitution the clauses are indicated only by para¬ 
graphing. They are not numbered like the sections. 

51 




52 


OUR CONSTITUTION 



SECRETARY OF STATE LANSING SHOWING 
THE CONSTITUTION MANUSCRIPT 

the powers of that government. It denies certain powers 
to it as well as to the several States. It guarantees protec¬ 
tion to each citizen in the enjoyment of his liberties as an 
individual. 

The Constitution establishes a single government, but 
it divides the work of that government among the three 
great departments studied in Chapter I. (See page 19.) 
Articles I to III provide for these three branches of govern¬ 
ment. Article I sets up the legislative department; Article 
II, the executive department; and Article III, the judicial 
department. 

The Preamble 

We the people of the United States, in order to form a more per¬ 
fect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for 
the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the 











THE PREAMBLE 


53 


blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and 
establish this Constitution for the United States of America.* 

The Preamble is an introductory statement, showing who 
made the Constitution and why they made it. The Pre¬ 
amble declares that the government gets its authority from 
“the people of the United States,” taken as a whole. It 
declares that the main objects to be gained by the creation 
of this government are: 

(1) to “form a more perfect union’*'; that is, a union more 
nearly perfect than the loose union of states under the 
Articles of Confederation. 

(2) to “establish justice”; that is, good laws and their 
fair and equal operation. 

(3) to “insure domestic tranquillity”;that is, peace within 
the boundaries of the United States. 

(4) to “provide for the common defense”; that is, pro¬ 
tection against enemies from without or within. 

(5) to “promote the general welfare”; that is, happiness 
and prosperity. 

(6) to “secure the blessings of liberty”; that is, individ¬ 
ual privileges and rights. 

The Preamble further ordains and establishes the Constitu¬ 
tion; that is, it gives force and effect to the government 
which is thus created “for the United States of America.” 

Suggested Activity 

Commit the Preamble to memory. 


*The actual words of the Constitution are here and elsewhere given in black type 




CHAPTER V 

ARTICLE I: THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT 


I believe there is no finer form of government than 
the one under which we live, and that I ought to be 
willing to live or die, as God decrees, that it may not 
perish from the earth .—Former Vice President Thomas 
R. Marshall. 


\ 

Sections 1 and 2: Two Houses of Congress; House 

of Representatives 

Section 1. All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in 
a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and 
a House of Representatives. 

The legislative department of the government of the 
United States is Congress. All powers to make laws for 
the country as a whole are fixed (“vested”) in Congress. 
The name “Congress” was well known to the framers of 
the Constitution, because it had been the title of the old 
governmental • body (the Congress of the Confederation) 
under the Articles of Confederation. 

Congress consists of two bodies, or “houses” as they are 
called, a Senate and a House of Representatives. The 
names chosen for them were also in common use in several 
of the States at the time when the Constitution was written. 

The establishment of two houses in Congress brought 
about a change from the plan followed under the Articles, in 
which the Congress had consisted of one house only. It 

54 


Sec. 2] 


HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 


55 


was believed that, under a plan of two houses, one of them 
would tend to be a check upon the other. In this way there 
would be careful and full study of proposed laws, and hasty 
or harsh laws would not be passed. 

This belief is illustrated in a story told of Jefferson and 
Washington. Once, when the two great leaders were en¬ 
joying a cup of tea together, Jefferson spoke against the 
plan of two houses in Congress. To these remarks Wash¬ 
ington replied: 

“You, yourself, have proved the excellence of two houses 
this very moment.” 

Jefferson, surprised, asked him how that could be. 

“You have turned your hot tea from the cup into the 
saucer to be cooled,” said Washington. “It is the same 
thing we desire of the two houses.” 

Section 2. Clause 1. Election of Representatives. The House of 
Representatives shall be composed of members chosen every second 
year by the people of the several States, and the electors in each 
State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most 
numerous branch of the State legislature. 

The word “electors” means voters. The words “qualifica¬ 
tions requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of 
the State legislature” simply mean that any person who is 
allowed to vote in the election of the State law-makers can 
vote for the representatives in Congress. This includes 
all voters in the State. Members of the House of Represen¬ 
tatives, therefore, are elected by direct vote of the people in 
the States from which they come, once in every period of 
two years. 

Thus Clause 1, by giving to the people direct power to 
choose their law-makers, puts emphasis on the fact that we 
are a self-governing people. It is the plain duty of every one 
of us to take an active part in the management of our 


56 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


[Art. I 


public affairs. No matter how fine the character of our 
people may be, if we neglect this duty we shall suffer from 
bad government, for dishonest and unintelligent men will 
get into office and make our laws. It must be the constant 
care of each one of us, then, to see that we always vote for 
representatives who are honest, faithful, and intelligent. In 
no other way can we have good government. 

The crowning fact of freedom is the freeman’s vote.— Whittier. 

The provision in Clause 1 for direct election of representa¬ 
tives by the people at brief intervals of time has caused the 
House to be regarded as the “popular” branch of Congress 
—that is, the branch through which the people express 
their wishes more quickly and surely. 

Elections for members of the House are held on the 
Tuesday after the first Monday in November of even- 
numbered years, as 1920, 1922, 1924, etc. However, a 
representative’s term of office does not begin until March 
4th of the year after the election. Since the representa¬ 
tives are elected for two-year terms, and all go out of office 
at the same time, the length of each Congress is two years. 

Clause 2. Qualifications of Members. No person shall be a repre¬ 
sentative who shall not have attained to the age of twenty-five years, 
and been seven years a citizen of the United States, and who shall 
not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that State in which he shall 
be chosen. 

The qualifications of representatives are three in num¬ 
ber, relating to age, citizenship, and residence. 

(1) Age. A member of the House of Representatives 
holds a position of so much importance that he or she 
must be old enough to understand fully and clearly the 
ordinary duties of manhood or womanhood. This age is 
fixed in the Constitution at not less than twenty-five years. 


Sej. 2] 


HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 


57 


(2) Citizenship. To be a citizen of the United States 
a person must either have been born in this country, or, 
if a native of another land, must then have resided here 
long enough to be made a citizen under the law. Several 
of the most influential members of the Constitutional Con¬ 
vention, as Alexander Hamilton and James Wilson, were 
of foreign birth, but were citizens by adoption. The 
Constitution requires that, in order to be a representative, 
an adopted citizen must have been a citizen for at least 
seven years. 

(3) Residence. It is generally felt that a person living 
in a State is likely to be better acquainted with the needs 
of that State, and more interested in its welfare, than some¬ 
one who is not an inhabitant of it. The Constitution, 
therefore, requires a representative to “be an inhabitant of 
that State in which he shall be chosen.” 

Clause 3. Apportionment of Members. Representatives and direct 
taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be 
included within this Union, according to their respective numbers, 
[which shall be determined by adding to the whole number of free 
persons, including those bound to service for a term of years, and 
excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other persons].* The 
actual enumeration shall be made within three years after the first 
meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every sub¬ 
sequent term of ten years, in such manner as they shall by law direct. 
The number of representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty 
thousand, but each State shall have at least one representative .... 
(The remainder of the clause gives the original apportionment by 
States. It applied only to the first years of the nation’s life, and so 
has been omitted here.) 

Clause 3 is the product of two of the great compromises 
which underlie the Constitution, as already discussed in 

*The word “persons” refers to negro slaves. Amendments XIII and XIV have so 
changed the Constitution at this point that the original provisions are no longer in 
force. (Refer to these Amendments, pages 181-182.) 



58 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


[Art. I 


Chapter II. The agreement to base representation in 
the House on population helped to satisfy the larger states. 
The agreement to count three fifths of the slave popula¬ 
tion in the apportionment of representatives helped to 
settle a serious point of difference between Southern and 
Northern States. 

The membership of the House of Representatives is in 
ratio to population, that is, one representative to so many 
inhabitants, as 30,000, or more. Each State is given at 
least one member, no matter how small its population 
may be. Congress itself fixes the number once in ten 
years when the enumeration, or census, of population is 
taken. The first House that sat under the Constitution 
had 65 members. With the growth in population, both 
the number of representatives and the number of persons 
who vote for a representative have been increased. The 
number of representatives in the Sixty-seventh Congress 
(1921-1923) was 435, being one representative for about 
212,000 persons. In addition, Alaska and Hawaii send a 
delegate each, the Philippine Islands two commissioners, 
and Porto Rico one. The delegates and commissioners are 
privileged to speak, but not to vote. 

After every census, Congress fixes the number of repre¬ 
sentatives to be allotted to each State in proportion to its 
population. Each State legislature then blocks out the area 
of the State into parts known as Congressional districts. 
From each district a representative is elected. 

The membership of the House is now (1923) so large that 
it is very difficult for the body as a whole to do well its busi¬ 
ness of law-making. If you were to walk into the large 
meeting room of the House while it was in session, you would 
be struck at first by the reign of noise and confusion. On 
the main floor you would see the members’ desks in big half 


Sec. 2] 


HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 


59 



THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

circles facing a platform in the front of the room. This main 
floor is surrounded by galleries. If you should take a seat 
in one of the galleries and look down, you would see and 
hear a hundred sights and noises at once. Some member 
might be addressing the House. You could only catch his 
voice now and again. The presiding officer would be rapping 
his gavel. Members would be talking together in the aisles, 
or clapping their hands to call the “pages,” the boys whom 
you would see dashing about delivering papers and other 
messages. It would take you quite a while to get used to 
this situation, and to find out that the people’s affairs are 
really being taken care of in a proper way by their rep¬ 
resentatives. 

We shall now want to go a step further to see how the 
business of Congress is actually done. In the first place, 

















60 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


[Art. I 


forms or drafts of proposed laws, called “bills,” are presented 
(“introduced”) by the members. So many bills are intro¬ 
duced (the figure running as high as twenty thousand each 
session) that it has become necessary for the House to limit 
debate and to subdivide itself into smaller groups, called 
“committees.” There are sixty or more committees in the 
House, such as the Ways and Means, Appropriations, Mili¬ 
tary Affairs, and so forth. When a bill is introduced, it is 
sent (“referred”) to the proper committee for study and 
report. In this way, a great part of the real foundational 
work of law-making is turned over to the committees. 

Clause 4- Vacancies. When vacancies happen in the representa¬ 
tion from any State, the executive authority thereof shall issue writs 
of election to fill such vacancies. 

It is desirable that the people shall at all times be fully 
represented. Clause 4 gives the governor of a State power 
to call a special election to fill a vacancy which may have 
occurred through death or some other unexpected happening. 

Clause 5. Officers; Right of Impeachment. The House of Repre¬ 
sentatives shall choose their Speaker and other officers; and shall 
have the sole power of impeachment. 

Officers are needed by each branch of Congress in order 
that its business may be done in a regular and orderly man¬ 
ner. In the House of Representatives the name given to the 
presiding officer is “Speaker.” The Speaker of the House 
of Representatives is elected by the members from their own 
number at the beginning of each Congress. Like other 
members, he is entitled to a vote, but he seldom takes part 
in debate. In many ways, however, the Speaker exercises 
great influence. 

Among the “other officers” of the House are the clerk, 
the chaplain, and the sergeant-at-arms, but they are not 


Sec. 2] 


HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 


61 


members. The most important duty of the clerk is to keep 
a record of the proceedings of the House. The chaplain 
opens every meeting with prayer. The sergeant-at-arms 
maintains order. He is the keeper of the “mace,” the emblem 
of authority, consisting of a staff with rods and an ax, all 
bound together, on top of which are a globe and a silver eagle. 

“Impeachment” is the process by which an officer of the 
government is formally charged with unfitness or misconduct 
in office and is put on trial. The power to bring such 
charges against officials of the United States belongs solely 
to the House of Representatives. 

Questions and Problems 

1. What is Congress? 

2. Explain fully why we have two houses in Congress. 

3. What other nations have two houses in their legislative depart¬ 

ment? What are the names of these houses? 

4. Why may we be said to be a self-governing people? 

5. How many representatives in the House has your State? 

6. Who are the representatives from your State? From your par¬ 

ticular district? 

7. What is a bill? How does it differ from a law? 

8. What is a committee? Why have committees been found neces¬ 

sary in Congress? 

9. What are the chief officers of the House of Representatives? 

Suggested Activities 

1. If at all possible, visit your State legislature. 

2. In Who’s Who in America or in your State Manual or Hand 

Book, look up information about your representatives and 

senators. Are any of them foreign born? 

Topic References 

References for both Chapters V and VI will be found at the end 
of Chapter VI. 


62 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


[Art. I 


The following is an example of a summary outline that you may 
make of each of certain divisions of the Constitution after you have 
studied them. You will find a number of such suggested activities in 
this book. In these only the main divisions of the outline will be 
given, the filling in of the details being left to you. 

Summary Outline of Chapter IV 

I. Two Houses of Congress 

1. Senate and House of Representatives 
II. House of Representatives 

1. Election of members 

(а) By whom chosen 

i. The voters of the States by districts 

(б) When chosen 

i. Every two years in November of the even 
years 

2. Term 

(а) Two years 

3. Qualifications of members 

(«) Age 

i. Twenty-five years 

(б) Citizenship 

i. At least seven years a citizen 

ii. Either native born or naturalized 
(c) Residence 

i. In the State and in the district 

4. Apportionment 

(a) One for every 30,000 people or more 
i. At least one for each State 

5. Vacancies 

(a) Filled by special elections called by the governor 
of the State 

6. Officers 

(a) Speaker 

i. Elected by the members from their own 

number 

ii. Holds office two years 

( b) Clerk 

(c) Chaplain 

( d) Sergeant-at-arms 

7. Impeachment 

(a) House has sole right to bring charges 


CHAPTER VI 

ARTICLE I: THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT 

(Continued) 

Government is a trust, and the officers of the govern¬ 
ment are trustees; both the trust and the trustees are 
created for the benefit of the people .—Henry Clay. 


Section 3: The Senate 

Clause 1. Members and Their Election. The Senate of the United 
States shall be composed of two senators from each State, [chosen by 
the legislature thereof,]* for six years; and each senator shall have 
one vote. 

One of the great compromises in the Constitutional Con¬ 
vention was an agreement upon the question of the number 
of members to be allowed each State in both House and 
Senate. The smaller States were finally satisfied by the 
arrangement made in Clause 1, of equal representation of 
each State in th^ Senate. Large States, like New York, and 
small States, like Rhode Island, each have the same number 
of senators. Every State is entitled to two senators, no 
more and no less. There were twenty-six in the beginning; 
there are ninety-six now. 

As the Senate is a much smaller body than the House, it 
can allow much greater freedom for members to speak 
frequently and at length on questions than can the House. 
For this reason, the debates in the Senate are often very 

♦Amendment XVII, which went into effect in May, 1913, changes Clause 1 by 
providing for direct election of senators by the people in the several States. (See 
page 184.) 


63 



64 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


[Art. I 



HENRY CLAY ADDRESSING THE SENATE 

important. Many of our most famous orators—as Henry 
Clay, Daniel Webster, and John C. Calhoun—became famous 
on account of their speeches delivered in the Senate. 

In the course of time many evils arose out of the election 
of senators by the State legislatures. As a result of these 
conditions, an amendment to the Constitution was finally 
passed which changed the system entirely. 

Under this amendment, the XVIIth, the senators are no 
longer chosen by the State legislatures, but by the people 
directly at the regular elections. Each senator is voted for 
by the people of the entire State, and not by those only who 
reside in certain districts of it. 

Each senator has one vote. His term of office is set at six 
years. This term is long enough to enable the senator to 
become acquainted with the public business, and to act more 
wisely upon public questions due to his long experience. At 
the same time, the term is not so long as to permit the 







Sec. 3] 


THE SENATE 


65 


senator to act with no regard whatever for the will of the 
people. 

The Senate has so much work to do that it has found it 
necessary, like the House, to elect committees in order to get 
its business done. These committees serve in much the same 
way as do those of the House. 

Clause 2. Classification of Members. Immediately after they shall 
be assembled in consequence of the first election, they shall be 
divided as equally as may be into three classes. The seats of the 
senators of the first class shall be vacated at the expiration of the 
second year, of the second class at the expiration of the fourth year, 
and of the third class at the expiration of the sixth year, so that one 
third may be chosen every second year; [and if vacancies happen by 
resignation, or otherwise, during the recess of the legislature of any 
State, the executive thereof may make temporary appointments until 
the next meeting of the legislature, which shall then fill such 
vacancies].* 

Clause 2 tells the way in which the senators are divided 
into three nearly equal classes, so that the six-year terms of 
about one third of them expire at the end of every two- 
year period. The membership of the Senate changes, 
but it does not change all at one time, as does the mem¬ 
bership of the House of Representatives. The Senate is, 
therefore, a permanent body, having men of experience 
always among its members. This fact adds to the power 
and dignity of the Senate. 

Clause 3. Qualifications of Members. No person shall be a senator 
who shall not have attained to the age of thirty years, and been nine 
years a citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, 
be an inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen. 

The qualifications named in Clause 3 for senators as 
to age and citizenship are higher than in the case of rep- 


*Modified by Amendment XVII. 




66 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


[Art. I 


resentatives. These requirements tend to bring into the 
Senate men of mature minds, of wide experience in busi¬ 
ness and professional affairs, and of sufficient length of 
residence to have gained full knowledge of our form of 
government. 

Clause 4- The Presiding Officer. The Vice President of the United 
States shall be president of the Senate, but shall have no vote, unless 
they be equally divided. 

Clause 5. Other Officers. The Senate shall choose their other 
officers, and also a president pro tempore , in the absence of the 
Vice President, or when he shall exercise the office of President of 
the United States. 

The presiding officer of the Senate is the Vice President 
of the United States. He is not a member of the Senate; 
hence, unlike the Speaker, he is not allowed a vote, except 
in the case of a tie. 

Among the “other officers” are the secretary, chaplain, 
and other minor employees, similar to those in the House. 
The senator who is president pro tempore (“for the time 
being”; that is, in the absence of the Vice President) is 
elected by the other senators. 

Clauses 6 and 7. 1 Hal of Impeachments. The Senate shall have 

the sole power to try all impeachments. When sitting for that pur¬ 
pose, they shall be on oath or affirmation. When the President of 
the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside; and no person 
shall be convicted without the concurrence of two thirds of the mem¬ 
bers present. 

Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend further than 
to removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any 
office of honor, trust, or profit under the United States; but the party 
convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to indictment, 
trial, judgment, and punishment, according to law. 

The Senate is given the power, and the Senate alone, of 
sitting as a court of justice to try all charges of impeach- 


Sec. 3] 


THE SENATE 


67 


merit when they have been begun by the House of Repre¬ 
sentatives. (See page 60.) The Vice President, or the pres¬ 
ident pro tempore , presides over the Senate in all impeach¬ 
ment trials except one. This exception arises “when the 
President of the United States is tried.’’ Then, the Chief 
Justice of the Supreme Court presides, for the reason 
that the Chief Justice has no direct personal interest in 
the outcome, as has the Vice President, who would, of course, 
become President if the President were found guilty. 

In the single instance in which a President was im¬ 
peached, the case of President Andrew Johnson, the Senate 
failed by a few votes to find him guilty. 

An officer of the Federal Government found guilty under 
impeachment is removed from office, and may be prevented 
from holding any other federal office thereafter. 

Questions and Problems 

1. Name the senators from your State. 

2. What arrangement in our Congress helps to give the small 

States more nearly equal power with the large ones? 

3. What makes the Senate a more dignified and experienced body 

than the House? 

4. Tell all the points of difference between the Senate and the 

House. 

5. What things about a candidate for Congress should we consider 

in deciding which way to vote? 

6. In what way are the people responsible if bad laws are passed? 

Suggested Activities 

1. Secure and bring to the class photographs and printed articles 

describing scenes in the House of Representatives or the Senate. 

Show them, or read them, to the class. 

2. Draw a bill of your own, as if you were a member of the House 

of Representatives, or the Senate. (The class may serve as 

the house, for the purpose.) Introduce it. Let it be referred 

to a committee. (Certain members of the class.) Present 

an oral argument in favor of your bill before the committee. 

(The committee may then take a vote upon it.) 


68 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


[Art. I 


3. Ask your father to tell you what things he considers when he 

is deciding which men to vote for. 

4. Make a summary outline (see page 62) of Chapter VI under 

these main heads: The Senate. 1. Representation by -; 

2. Election of members; 3. Classification of members; 4. 
Qualifications of members; 5. Officers: 6. Special powers. 

Topic References 

Adams: A Community Civics, pages 297-298. 

Dunn: The Community and the Citizen, pages 254-256. 

Hughes: Community Civics, pages 153-156, 160-162. 

Jenks and Smith: We and Our Government, pages 160-163. 
Tarkington: My Country, Chapter X, and pages 165-167. 


Naturally the question arises, what shall we do to 
defend our birthright? In the first 'place everybody 
must take a more active part in public affairs. It 
will not do for men to send, they must go. It is not 
enough to draw a check. Good government cannot be 
bought, it has to be given. Office has great oppor¬ 
tunities for doing wrong, bid equal chance for doing 
right. Unless good citizens hold office, bad citizens 
will .—President Calvin Coolidge. 




CHAPTER VII 


ARTICLE I: THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT 

(Continued) 

I shall make honesty, capacity, and fidelity indis¬ 
pensable requisites to the bestowal of office; and the 
absence of any one of these qualities shall be deemed 
sufficient cause for removal .—Zachary Taylor. 


Sections 4, 5, 6, and 7 : General Regulations 
Governing Both Houses 

Section 4: Clauses 1 and 2. Times and Places of Elections; 

Sessions. The times, places, and manner of holding elections for 
senators and representatives shall be prescribed in each State by 
the legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by law make 
or alter such regulations, except as to the places of choosing senators. 

The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such 
meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they shall 
by law appoint a different day. 

Refer in this connection to the parts already studied 
having to do with the elections of representatives (pages 
55-58). 

Each Congress holds two regular meetings, called “ses¬ 
sions”; and any special, or “extraordinary,” sessions that 
the President may call. Each new Congress meets in its 
first regular session in the city of Washington on the first 
Monday in December of the odd-numbered year. This 
session is called the “long session,” because it lasts for 
a greater period of time than does the second one. The 
long session must come to a close not later than the 

69 


70 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


[Art. I 


first Monday in December of the even-numbered year, 
for the second session begins on that date. This second, 
or “short,’’ session ends by law on March 4th of the follow¬ 
ing, or odd-numbered year. Each Congress is known by its 
number; thus, the one opening this year (1923) is called 
the “Sixty-eighth Congress,” its two sessions lasting from 
December, 1923, to March, 1925. 

Section 5. Clauses 1 and 2. Powers of each House over its Members; 
Quorums; Rules. Each house shall be the judge of the elections, 
returns, and qualifications of its own members, and a majority of each 
shall constitute a quorum to do business; but a smaller number may 
adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the attend¬ 
ance of absent members, in such manner, and under such penalties 
as each house may provide. 

Each house may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish 
its members for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of 
two thirds, expel a member. 

The two houses of Congress are given power to judge 
whether persons claiming membership in them have been 
elected according to the law, and whether they have met 
the qualifications. (See pages 56, 65.) 

By the word “quorum” is meant such a number of mem¬ 
bers of a body as has the right to “do business.” In both 
House and Senate, this number is placed at one more than 
half of the total membership of each body. The power to 
compel the Congressmen to attend the sessions is necessary 
to a body like Congress if it is to do its work. Otherwise, 
a great deal of time would be lost, for absent members might 
make it impossible to do business. 

In order that Congress may be self-governing and not 
be subject to outside control, each branch is given power 
to make its own rules for carrying on its business. The 
formation of committees, and the assignment of business 
to them, are the result of the working out of these rules. 


Sec. 5] REGULATIONS GOVERNING CONGRESS 


71 


The general rules, when collected, together with statements 
of the ways in which they are put to use, are given the name 
“Parliamentary Law.” 

In cases of extreme disorder in the House, the sergeant-at- 
arms carries the “mace,” by command of the Speaker, 
among the unruly members and demands quiet. This 
action is ordinarily all that is needed to bring the dis¬ 
turbance to a stop; but, if not, the House may empower the 
sergeant-at-arms to arrest the offenders. 

Expulsion is the severest punishment that either branch 
of Congress may use against its members for conduct 
unworthy of them as senators or representatives. For this 
reason, before a member may be expelled he must be found 
guilty by a two-thirds vote of his fellow members. Expul¬ 
sion is very rare. 

Clause 3. Journal of Proceedings; Voting. Each house shall keep 
a journal of its proceedings, and from time to time publish the same, 
excepting such parts as may, in their judgment, require secrecy; and 
the yeas and nays of the members of either house on any question 
shall, at the desire of one fifth of those present, be entered on the 
journal. 

The purpose in keeping a daily record of proceedings is 
to enable the members to keep in close touch with the 
progress of the business of Congress. Similarly, the pub¬ 
lication of the journal is intended to acquaint the people 
with what their national law-makers are doing. The journal 
is called the Congressional Record. 

Very often when a vote upon a bill is taken the presiding 
officer can tell the result by the sound of voices (viva 
voce ) or by a show of hands. If the necessary majority 
of members votes in favor of the proposition, it passes; il 
not, it fails. When the “yeas and nays” are put, the roll 
is called and the votes of members written in the journal 


72 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


[Art. I 


(ffottjjressioiial 1U'cord. 

SIXTY-SEVENTH QONGRESS, FOURTH SESSION. 


>'ol. 64. 


WASHINGTON, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, J923. 


SENATE. * 

Wednesday, February 28 , 1928. 

The Senate met at 11 o’clock a. m. 

The Chapluin, Rev. J. J. Muir, D. D., offered the following 
prayer: 

Our Father and our fathers’ God. we turn our thoughts to Thee 
with the beginning of the day’s duties and seek Thy wisdom. 
We ask that whatever may omne l>et'nre this laxly in connection 
with its high responsibilities, wisdom may always he dispensed 
unto it. and that each one under the consciousness of his charge 
muy fulfill the duties for the highest Interests of the country 
and to the glory of Thy gr«*at name. We ask in Jesus' name. 
Amen. 

TJfE JOURNAL. 

The reading clerk proceeded to read the Journal of the pro- 
feeding* of the legislative day of AJonday. February 20, 15*53. 
when, on request of Mr. Curtis and by unanimous consent, tl»e 
further reading was dispensed with, and the Journal wus ap¬ 
proved. 

CALL OF THE BOLL. 

Mr. CURTIS. Mr. President. 1 suggest the absence of a 
quorum! 

The VICE PRESIDENT. Let the roll be called. 

The reading clerk called the roll, and the following Senators 
answered to their names:* 

Asburst Foynald ladtl 

Pull Pl«jtdi?r Lcnrodt 

Huyard FrHingbuyscn Lodge 

Horah fieorge McCormick 

liraodegee (Jerry McK<-ll.ir 

Itrookbart Claim M<Klnley 

ltursum Gooding McLean 

Calder Hole MeNary 

t'anu-rou llurreld M om« 



JUDGMENTS IN CLAIM a AOAl.NST THE UNITED STATES ( 8 . DOC $24 » 

The VICE PRESIDENT’laid before the Senate a communica¬ 
tion from the President of the United States, transmitting, 
pursuant to law. a list of Judgments rendered by the Court of 
Claims, as follows: Under the Department of the Interior. 
$430: under the War Department. $1ll,U2- r >22; In total amount, 
$111,450.22. which, with the accompanying pupers. was re¬ 
ferred to the Committee on Appropriations And ordered to !>e 
printed. 

TRANSPORTA notv OF ANTHRACITE COAL DURINO COAL EMERGENCY 

The VICE PRESIDENT laid before the Senate a communica¬ 
tion from the rbuiraian of the Intenuate Commerce Commission. 
In response to Senate Resolution 418. agreed to January 23 
(calendur day. January 24). 15*23. und submitted by Mr Walsh 
of .Massachusetts, transmitting a report adopted by the com¬ 
mission relative to the recent transportation und distribution of 
anthracite coal, which w-as referred to the Committee on Educa¬ 
tion and I-alair. 

Mr Walsh of Massachusetts. I move that the report be 
printed In the Record und referred to the Committee on Educa¬ 
tion and Lnlior. 

The VICE PRESIDENT. Is there objection? 

There being no objection, the report was referred to the Com¬ 
mittee on Education and Labor and ordered to be printed lu the 
Record, as follows: 

Ivtrbstat* Comm niica. Commission. 

H'*«kl»» 0 fon, Frbruary t8. IftS 

St* I trartMioif herewith report adopted February 2". 1923 io re 
apoa»' to Senate Ue»olulion 41*. of Janunty *3 (calendar day. January 
.4 i 1x2.1. directing tb«- Interstate Cotnmetce Commission to report j 
the Senate > 

1 Whether it ha* Investigated ibe feasibility and advisability i 
dering an embargo upon shipment* of anthracite coal to foreigiv 

tries; |- * 

2. The action taken as u result of such l_. 
nmdr. together with the facts considered and 
the commission 

•T It no Investigation h *'* 
should aot be imniediii' —“ 
disability pf orderly 
' —other , 


“EACH HOUSE SHALL KEEP A JOURNAL.” 


opposite their names, as follows: “yea” (yes), “nay” (no), 
“absent,” or “not voting.” The presiding officer announjjis 
the result. The roll is called upon nearly all important 
bills, and must be called if one fifth of the members demand 
it. The object is to let the people know how their repre¬ 
sentatives or senators have voted, and to make certain the 
result of the vote. 

Clause 4- Common Time and Place of Meeting. Neither house, 
during the session of Congress, shall, without the consent of the 
other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other place than 
that in which the two houses shall be sitting. 


When the two houses hold their sessions at the same 
time and place, business can be conducted without loss of 
time and without the difficulties caused by distance. 




























Sec. 6] REGULATIONS GOVERNING CONGRESS 


73 


Section 6. Clause 1. Salaries of Members; Privilege from Arrest. 

The senators and representatives shall receive a compensation for 
their services, to be ascertained by law, and paid out of the treasury 
of the United States. They shall, in all cases, except treason, felony, 
and breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their attend¬ 
ance at the session of their respective houses, and in going to and 
returning from the same; and for any speech or debate in either 
house, they shall not be questioned in any other place. 

Representatives and senators receive the same salaries. 
These are now fixed at $7500 per- year, plus traveling 
expenses at the rate of twenty cents per mile in going to and 
from their homes to attend sessions of Congress. Congress 
itself determines the amount by law, and the money is “paid 
out of the treasury of the United States.” This provision 
marks a change from the plan followed in the Congress under 
the old Articles of Confederation, in which the delegates were 
paid by the States from which they came. Under the Con¬ 
stitution, the members of Congress are made independent of 
the States in respect to salary, and are made responsible 
directly to the people of the country as a whole. 

The privilege of freedom from arrest, as provided in 
Clause 1, is necessary to allow the people to be fully repre¬ 
sented at all times in Congress. Otherwise, a member might 
be held upon some slight charge, perhaps made up by his 
enemies, and be prevented from attending to his duties as 
a law-maker. 

It is equally important that a member enjoy freedom of 
speech. The final part of Clause 1 provides, therefore, that 
members of House or Senate cannot be attacked by legal 
action outside the halls of Congress for words uttered in 
debate inside those halls. The object of this provision is to 
protect the members so that they may say exactly what they 
think upon subjects that come up in the work of making our 
laws. 


74 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


[Art. I 


Clause 2. Certain Offices Denied Congressmen. No senator or 
representative shall, during the time for which he was elected, be 
appointed to any civil office under the authority of the United States, 
which shall have been created, or the emoluments whereof shall have 
been increased, during such time; and no person holding any office 
under the United States shall be a member of either house during 
his continuance in office. 

Clause 2 is intended to remove a possible temptation from 
members of Congress to vote in favor of measures when they 
might gain personal benefit by doing so. The desire of the 
framers of the Constitution that the legislative and executive 
departments of the Federal Government be kept separate and 
distinct, led them to prohibit the executive and judicial 
officers of the government from having seats in Congress, 
the law-making body. 

Section 7. Clause 1. Revenue Bills. All bills for raising revenue 
shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may 
propose or concur with amendments as on other bills. 

The provision in Clause 1 goes back historically to the long 
struggle for power in England between the House of Com¬ 
mons and the King. The House of Commons finally gained 
supreme control of the government by establishing the right 
that it must approve all bills for raising money. 

We have already seen how the colonists before the Revolu¬ 
tion also had won the all-important right to control the 
raising and spending of public moneys, through their repre¬ 
sentatives in the colonial legislatures. (See page 25.) 

In the Constitutional Convention the large States feared 
that their property might be subjected to unfair taxation. 
Hence, they made sure that bills to raise money for the 
Federal Government, called “revenue” bills, should come first 
before the House of Representatives. In this body the large 
States would have a majority of votes, since its member¬ 
ship is in proportion to population. 


Sec. 7] REGULATIONS GOVERNING CONGRESS 


75 


Clause 2. Steps in the Passing of Laws; the President's Veto. Every 
bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the 
Senate, shall, before it become a law, be presented to the President 
of the United States; if he approve, he shall sign it, but if not, he 
shall return it, with his objections, to that house in which it shall 
have originated, who shall enter the objections at large on their 
journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If, after such reconsideration, 
two thirds of that house shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, 
together with the objections, to the other house, by which it shall 
likewise be reconsidered, and, if approved by two thirds of that 
house, it shall become a law. But in all such cases the votes of 
both houses shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the names 
of the persons voting for and against the bill shall be entered on the 
journal of each house respectively. If any bill shall not be returned 
by the President within ten days (Sundays excepted) after it shall 
have been presented to him, the same shall be a law, in like manner 
as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their adjournment 
prevent its return, in which case it shall not be a law. 

The Constitution makes House and Senate of equal 
strength as law-making bodies (except that revenue bills must 
be introduced first in the House). Neither branch is inde¬ 
pendent of the other; both must agree, or no results in law¬ 
making can be had. A bill must receive a majority vote 
in i%s favor by each house of Congress separately. Bills 
passed by the House go to the Senate, and those passed 
by the Senate go to the House. 

When a bill has been passed by both branches of Congress, 
it is not yet a law. The people must be protected still 
further against hasty law-making. So the bill goes next to 
the President for his review and criticism. If he approves 
the measure, he signs it. It is no longer a bill; it is a law. 
If he does not approve the measure, the President writes 
upon it the word “veto,” which means “I forbid” (from 
the Latin). He then sends it back to the house in which 
it was first introduced, together with a statement of his 
objections to it. 


76 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


[Art. I 



PRESIDENT HARDING SIGNING A BILL PROVIDING FOR IMPROVEMENTS 
IN THE PORT OF NEW YORK. (See page 84.) 


This action is called the “veto.” Another vote is now had 
upon the bill. If it should receive a two-thirds vote of both 
houses, it becomes a law, in spite of the President’s veto. If 
it fails to receive a two-thircls vote in either house, it fails to 
become a law. 

When a bill is sent to the President, he must return it 
within ten days either signed or vetoed. If he does not re¬ 
turn the bill, it becomes a law without his signature. But, 
if Congress adjourns before the ten days are up, the Presi¬ 
dent can kill the bill by simply refusing to sign it. This is 
called the “pocket veto,” because the President, knowing 
that Congress goes out of session before the ten days allowed 
him to consider the bill have passed, puts the bill, so to 
speak, in his pocket, if he opposes it, and forgets about it. 

There are three ways, then, by which a bill passed by 
Congress may become a law. There are also two ways by 
which the President may kill a bill passed by Congress. 







Sec. 7] REGULATIONS GOVERNING CONGRESS 


77 


e have already seen that the object of government is the 
welfare of the people. The people have found that in 
matters of legislation, particularly, their rights need to be 
safeguarded continually. The veto is one of these safe¬ 
guards. Through it, the executive branch watches over the 
interests of the people by restraining the legislative branch. 
The President exercises the veto whenever he considers a law 
to be unwise, or unjust, or to violate the provisions of the 
Constitution. The President’s veto is a further brake upon 
hasty or unwise legislation. It is not an absolute check, 
but it forces Congress to make cloubty sure of its ground. 

In the beginnings of our history under the Constitution, 
presidential vetoes were few. Only nine were issued before 
the time of President Andrew Jackson. He set a new mark 
by vetoing more bills than all his predecessors combined had 
done. Recent Presidents have been more free than earlier 
ones in using the veto power. Thus, to illustrate, President 
Wilson vetoed the immigration bill in 1917; Congress passed 
it over the veto. Again, President Harding vetoed the 
soldier’s bonus bill in 1922; the House of Representatives 
repassed it over the veto, but the Senate did not. The veto 
has become one of the means by which the President’s 
influence has been largely increased of late years. 

Clause 3. Other Acts Referred to the President. Every order, reso¬ 
lution, or vote to which the concurrence of the Senate and House of 
Representatives may be necessary (except on a question of adjourn¬ 
ment) shall be presented to the President of the United States; and 
before the same shall take effect, shall be approved by him; or, being 
disapproved by him, shall be repassed by two thirds of the Senate 
and House of Representatives, according to the rules and limitations 
prescribed in the case of a bill. 

From time to time Congress may wish to express itself 
in other ways than by means of bills. Under Clause 3, 


78 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


[Art. 1 


Congress must also submit these various formal acts to 
the President for his approval or disapproval. The veto 
may be placed upon them by the President, and his veto may 
be upheld or overridden by Congress, in the same manner 
as in the case of bills. 

Questions and Problems 

1. What do you think would cause the President to call an extraor¬ 

dinary session? 

2. In what ways may a bill, passed by Congress, fail to become a 

law? 

3. In what way may a bill become a law in spite of the President’s 

objections? 

4. Give all the regulations that help to keep laws from being 

hastily and foolishly made. 

Suggested Activities 

1. With the class organized as House or Senate, take a viva voce 

vote upon some bill drawn up and introduced. Let the pre¬ 
siding officer announce the result. Take a vote by “yeas and 
nays,” upon the same bill, or upon another one, and have the 
result announced. 

2. Get a copy of the Congressional Record and examine it care¬ 

fully. Report to class what the speeches were about and any 
other interesting points. 

3. Ask your father to tell you what important bills are now before 

Congress. How have your representatives and senators 
voted on some recent bills? 

4. Make a summary outline of the general regulations governing 

both houses under these main heads: 1. Times and places of 
elections; 2. Sessions; 3. Powers over members; 4. Rules; 

5. Journal; 6. Voting; 7. Time and place of meeting; 8. Pay 
of members; 9. Privileges of members; 10. Prohibitions upon 
members; 11. Revenue bills; 12. First steps in the making 
of laws; 13. Later steps in the making of laws (veto, etc.). 

Topic References 

Adams: A Community Civics, pages 293-303. 

Hughes: Community Civics, pages 156-160, 163-164. 

Jenks and Smith: We and Our Government , pages 164-166. 


CHAPTER VIII 


ARTICLE I: THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT 

(Continued) 

Our object in the construction of the state is the 
greatest happiness of the whole and not of any one 
class.— Plato. 


Section 8: Powers Given to Congress 

Article I up to this point has told how Congress is or¬ 
ganized into two branches, how each branch is made up, 
how members are chosen, what their privileges and restric¬ 
tions are, and how laws are passed. 

Section 8, which we are now to consider, contains 
only a few brief clauses, but it is nearly, if not quite, the 
most important section of the whole Constitution. It 
names certain great general legislative powers which are 
granted to Congress. It has been said that these few clauses 
“are the engine that drives the whole machinery of the 
government, and without them that machinery would 
never have moved.” 

Clause 1. Taxation. The Congress shall have power to lay and 
collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises, to pay the debts and pro¬ 
vide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States; 
but all duties, imposts, and excises shall be uniform throughout the 
United States. 

Any government must pay out money, if it is to perform 
its services for the people, just as an individual must spend 

79 


80 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


[Art. I 


money for food, clothing, and shelter. We have learned 
that amounts of money fixed by the government and col¬ 
lected from the people for its support are known as taxes. 
Without the money flowing into the public treasury from 
taxes, no government can do its work. “Without money,” 
said Hamilton, “no government can exist, and without 
the power to raise it, it cannot be had.” 

Under the Articles of Confederation, Congress had not 
been able to raise taxes from the people for the purpose of 
carrying on the work of the government. It could only 
ask the States for aid. The result was, as we have seen, 
that Congress was left without funds to meet the most 
pressing financial needs. (See page 34.) 

This situation was met by Clause 1. It brought about 
a far-reaching change, by giving Congress the power “to 
lay and collect taxes,” not upon the States as such, but 
upon individual citizens directly. In that way, the new 
government was built upon a strong and solid foundation, 
so that it could gain and hold the respect and loyalty of 
the people. 

In paying taxes, each one of us is contributing, from his 
own earnings, toward the cost of government. Each one 
has on that account an added interest in the work of govern¬ 
ment, because he desires to see his money bring good results. 
Since we are all benefited by the services of the govern¬ 
ment, we should be willing to bear our share of the cost 
of these services. We should also be constantly on the 
watch to see that our servants—the public officials—give 
us good and full returns in benefits for the amounts paid. 

Taxes are of two kinds: direct and indirect. If the taxes 
are actually charged to the person individually, they are 
direct taxes. If the taxes are borne by the people in gen- 


Sec. 8] 


POWERS GIVEN CONGRESS 


81 


eral, as part of the price they pay for goods they buy, the 
taxes are indirect. To illustrate: (a) the tax paid by the 
owner of a house and lot, or of an acre of land, upon his 
property, is a direct tax; (b) the increased price paid by 
a traveler for his railroad ticket on account of a tax having 
been laid upon the railroad, is an indirect tax. 

“Duties,” “imposts,” and “excises” are various forms 
of indirect taxes, and from them the Federal Government 
draws the larger part of its income.. Duties and imposts 
refer to charges upon goods coming into the United States 
from other countries, such as jewelry, carpets, lumber, etc. 
These taxes are often known as “tariff duties,” and are 
collected at custom houses situated at the places where the 
articles are brought into the United States. Excises are 
taxes upon articles produced or prepared in the United 
States, such as toilet articles and patent medicines. Such 
excises are often called “internal revenue” taxes. 

The power of Congress to lay and collect taxes is very 
large, but is, nevertheless, kept within limits. One re¬ 
striction is that the duties, imposts, and excises shall be 
“uniform throughout the United States.” This require¬ 
ment means that the same amount of money for taxes 
must be charged upon the same article in any part of the 
country. For example, the same internal revenue tax may 
be laid upon tobacco in Virginia as in Minnesota. Again, 
tariff duties laid upon jewelry entering the United States 
through the harbor of New York and upon jewelry of the 
same kind entering the port of San Francisco must be equal. 
This ruling is intended to place the burden equally upon 
the country as a whole, and to prevent one section from 
having an advantage over another. Other limitations upon 
the power of Congress to tax will appear as we read further. 


82 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


[Art. I 


Clause 2. The Borrowing of Money. (Congress shall have power) 
To borrow money on the credit of the United States. 

Just as a government must 
have a regular income, so it 
could hardly exist unless it had 
power to borrow money. Great 
demands arise, such as wars, or 
the making of public improve¬ 
ments, when the usual incomes 
are not sufficient to meet the 
extraordinary expenses. Under 
such conditions governments 
must get money through loans. 
Thus, the United States govern¬ 
ment during the World War bor¬ 
rowed vast sums from the people 
by means of “Liberty Loans.” 
In return for these loans the government issued “bonds,” 
which are promises to repay at stated dates the amounts 
borrowed, with interest. The government also borrowed 
money for the purpose of building the Panama Canal. 

Clause 3. The Regulation of Commerce. (Congress shall have 
power) To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the 
several States, and with the Indian tribes. 

Following the Revolutionary War, the States had quarreled 
violently among themselves, and with foreign countries, 
over matters of commerce. The Congress of the Con¬ 
federation had lacked the strength to improve commercial 
relations. The country suffered so severely from bad busi¬ 
ness conditions that this problem, as we have seen, was 
put forward as the chief reason in favor of holding the 
Constitutional Convention in 1787. (See pages 35, 36.) 








Sec. 8] 


POWERS GIVEN CONGRESS 


83 


In Clause 3, the founders of the new government solved 
the problem by granting to Congress the power “to regu¬ 
late commerce.” The powers of Congress at this point 
cover a wide range, and have been exercised in numerous 
ways, as we shall see. 

Under its authority to “regulate commerce with foreign 
nations,” Congress fixes the rules under which ships may 
fly the American flag, as 
by placing a limit upon 
the number of passengers 
the vessel may carry, and 
by requiring it to have 
on hand in good condi¬ 
tion a certain number of 
life-preservers and life¬ 
boats. Congress pro¬ 
vides for the protection 
of shipping, as by build¬ 
ing lighthouses, and by 
maintaining life-saving 
stations. 

Under Clause 3, Con¬ 
gress has also forbidden 
the importation of vari¬ 
ous articles, as opium, and bird-of-paradise plumes, and in 
special cases has stopped the exportation of such goods as 
firearms, and other materials of war. It has passed “im¬ 
migration laws” restricting the entrance of foreigners (“ali¬ 
ens”) into the United States, and laws (“exclusion acts”) 
preventing the incoming of undesirable immigrants. 

Under its authority to regulate commerce “among the 
several States” (“interstate commerce”), Congress has 
extended its control over the waters of all rivers and other 



ONE WAY IN WHICH THE GOVERNMENT 
TAKES CARE OF ITS PEOPLE 












84 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


[Art. I 


streams open to navigation. Thus, it makes the laws under 
which steamboats (which had not been invented when the 
Constitution was drawn), and other vessels, sail on these 
waters. It votes immense sums of money at each session 
for the improvement of rivers and harbors. The govern¬ 
ment engineers dredge rivers, and otherwise make them 
more useful for purposes of commerce. They build em¬ 
bankments to protect the people against floods. In these 
ways great benefits have come to the people from the 
strong federal government. 

Clause 3 also gives Congress power over land traffic 
passing from State to State. Congress makes rules for the 
railroads (though these were not dreamed of, either, when 
the Constitution was written). Wherever the railroads 
engage in business in more than one State, Congress makes 
rules for them to follow in respect to such matters as the 
fixing of rates for passenger fares and freight charges, the 
installation of safety appliances, and the establishment of 
the number of working hours per day for employees. Con¬ 
gress also regulates “interstate commerce” in respect to 
pipe-lines for carrying oil, the telegraph, the telephone, the 
radio, the airship, railway express shipping, and sleeping car 
service. 

People today could hardly live in great cities unless 
these means of transportation and communication had 
been developed. These agencies are almost as necessary 
as air, light, and water. It will be both valuable and in¬ 
teresting for you to trace the progress and growth of these 
modern systems, and to find out why the people have found 
it necessary to assume control over them in these ways. 
You will find material in the “Topic References” at the 
end of the chapter. 

Congress also has power to prevent objectionable articles 


Sec. 8] 


POWERS GIVEN CONGRESS 


85 


from being transported from a point in one State to a point 
in another State, as diseased cattle, or impure foods, or 
injurious drugs. A corps of federal inspectors is stationed 
at factories and packing houses to promote the welfare of 
the people in all such respects. 

Under Clause 3, as well, Congress exercises power over 
business organizations which engage in interstate or foreign 
commerce. In the early days nearly all manufacturing 
was done in the home community. The trade in such 
goods extended only short distances from the point where 
they were made. Nowadays, all is changed. Many in¬ 
dustries, such as those which manufacture iron and steel, 
boots and shoes, and woolen and cotton goods, are im¬ 
mense in size. Their products are shipped in huge quan¬ 
tities to all parts of the country and, in fact, to all parts 
of the world. 

This remarkable growth has come about through the 
great inventions in the application of steam and electricity 
to machinery for manufacturing purposes. You have 
come upon accounts of these inventions in your studies in 
history, and will find further material in the “Topic Ref¬ 
erences.” These changes were accompanied by the forma¬ 
tion of business organizations on a very large scale (“corpora¬ 
tions” and “trusts”). It takes great amounts of money to 
buy the raw material, the machinery and other property, 
and to pay the laborers, in carrying on the work of these 
vast organizations. 

The people quite generally felt that these developments 
in the field of business brought them little, if any, benefit, 
because small groups of men became so wealthy and pow¬ 
erful that they disregarded the rights of the people. As a 
result, Congress has passed laws that protect the interests 
of the people in these matters. 


86 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


[Art. I 


Clause 4- The Naturalization of Foreigners; The Regulation of 
Bankruptcies. (Congress shall have power) To establish a uniform 
rule of naturalization, and uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcies 
throughout the United States. 

(a) Naturalization. We have already found what it 
means to be a citizen of the United States. (See page 57. 
Read, also, Clause 1 of the XIVth Amendment.) Citizen¬ 
ship is the most valuable gift a government may bestow 
upon any person, and a citizen is bound by ties of highest 
loyalty to his government. On the other hand, a citizen 
is entitled to the fullest protection of his government. He 
is guaranteed all those personal rights and privileges for 
which our nation’s founders fought and labored. 

Citizenship is the birthright of all persons born in the 
United States. Even children born in the United States 
to parents who are citizens of other countries, permanently 
residing in this country, are American citizens. Even chil¬ 
dren born in the United States of Chinese parents are Amer¬ 
ican citizens, though their parents are debarred from that 
privilege of citizenship. 

There is another way through which this precious gift 
of citizenship may be bestowed in the United States. This 
method must be used by persons born of foreign parents in 
foreign lands. It is a process known as “naturalization,” 
over which Congress, in Clause 4, is given complete control. 

If qualified to proceed with the steps necessary to become 
a citizen, an alien is required by law to begin by placing 
on record a “Declaration of Intention,” or “first papers.” 
Not less than two years and not more than seven years 
after he gets his “first papers,” the applicant must present 
a “Petition for Naturalization,” commonly known as the 
“second papers.” Finally, he is required to appear in 
court, to take an oral examination upon his knowledge of 


Sec. 8] 


POWERS GIVEN CONGRESS 


87 



ELLIS ISLAND—NEW YORK HARBOR, WHERE OUR IMMIGRANTS LAND 

AND ARE EXAMINED 


the government of the United States, as well as that of the 
State and local community in which he lives. If he passes 
the examination, the applicant is required to take the fol¬ 
lowing oath of allegiance: 

“I hereby declare on oath that I absolutely and entirely 
renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any for¬ 
eign prince, potentate, state or sovereignty, and particu¬ 
larly to (name of sovereign of country), of whom I have 
heretofore been a subject; that I will support and defend 
the Constitution and laws of the United States of America 
against all enemies, foreign and domestic, and that I will 
bear true faith and allegiance to the same.” 

He is now no longer an alien, but is an American citizen, 
with all the precious rights and privileges of a citizen, just as 
if he had been born in the United States. “Some of the best 
stuff in America,” says ex-President Wilson, “is in the men 
who are naturalized citizens of the United States.” 






88 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


[Art. I 


(6) Bankruptcy . This part of Clause 4 enables Congress 
to make laws relating to the affairs of persons unable to pay 
their just debts. 

Questions and Problems 

1. What railroads run into your community? 

2. Has the Federal Government ever operated the railroads? If 

so, under what circumstances? 

3. Does the Federal Government own and operate any railroad? 

If so, where? 

4. Does it own and operate any telegraph lines? any cables? any 

wireless stations? If so, where? 

5. From what places do the articles of food on your table at home 

come? Look on the labels on some of the articles to see if 
you can find any evidence of federal government authority. 

6. How many men and women were naturalized in your community 

last year? 

7. What races, and classes of people, are excluded from entrance 

to the United States? What are the reasons for excluding 
them? 

8. What large benefits has the United States gained from the 

free admission of immigrants? What kinds of work do the 
immigrants in your community do? 

9. What changes have come over the character of immigration in 

recent years? Why were restrictions upon immigration 
imposed in the laws of 1917 and 1921? 

10. Write a list of definite ways in which you may prove that you 
value your citizenship. 

Suggested Activities 

1. Ask your parents to tell you what federal taxes they pay. 

2. Try to get a chance to examine a Liberty Bond or a Treasury 

Certificate. Read carefully what is on it. 

3. Propositions for debate: 

Resolved, that the government of the United States should 
own and operate the railroads. 

Resolved, that the government of the United States should 
own and operate the coal mines. 

4. Tell orally, or in written form, of a visit to a lighthouse, or a 

life-saving station (if you have visited one). Bring to class 
any photographs that you may have or may get. 

5. Re-tell a story concerning a lighthouse, or a life-saving station, 

which you have read. 


POWERS GIVEN CONGRESS 


89 


6. Investigate and report upon an example of a river or harbor 

improvement carried on by Congressional appropriation. 
(If in your community, so much the better.) What benefit 
has resulted? 

7. Locate a boy or girl, a man or woman, who is an immigrant, 

in your community. Talk with him or her. Learn where he 
or she came from, and how he or she reached America. 
Trace his or her journey on the map. Re-tell the story, 
orally, or in written form, to the class. 

8. Discuss the subject: What America should be doing for its 

immigrants. Make the treatment personal by telling what 
you, and your classmates, should be doing. 

9. Search out a person in your community who has become a 

naturalized citizen. Talk over with him or her the steps 
which he or she took to be naturalized. Tell the story to 
the class. 

10. Visit a court at a time when examinations in naturalization 
are being held. Give a report of the proceedings to the class. 

Topic References 

Our Commercial and Industrial Life 

Adams: A Community Civics, Chapter XX. 

Carlton: Elementary Economics, Chapters XI and XII. 

Dunn: The Community and the Citizen, Chapter XXV. 

Fisher: Resources and Industries of the United States, pages 200-222. 
Hughes: Economic Civics, pages 192-211. 

Hughes: Community Civics, pages 289-296. 

Jenks and Smith: We and Our Government , Chapter IX. 

Lessons in Community and National Life:* B-2: u The Varied 
Occupations of a Colonial Farm”; B-9: “ How Men Made Heat to Work”; 
A-8: 11 The Rise of Machine Industry”; B-3: “A Cotton Factory and the 
Workers”; A-3: “The Cooperation of Specialists in Modern Society”; 
B-27: “< Good Roads”; C-27: u Early Transportation in the Far West”; 
C-28: “The First Railway Across the Continent”; A-26: “ Concentration 
of Control in the Railroad Industry.” 

Marriott: How Americans Are Governed, pages 71-SO. 

Marshall and Lyon: Our Economic Organization, Chapter XIII. 
Osgood: A History of Industry, Chapters XII, XIII, XVII. 

Tufts: The Real Business of Living, Chapters XV, XVI, XVII, and 
XVIII, and pages 343-347. 

* Lessons in Community and National Life are publications of the Bureau of Educa¬ 
tion, Department of the Interior, issued during the school year of 1917-18 under the 
editorship of Dr. Charles H. Judd. 



90 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


[Art, I 


Immigration and Our Immigrants 

Adams: A Community Civics, pages 228-232. 

Antin: The Promised Land; The Stranger Within Our Gates. 

Ashley: The Practice of Citizenship, pages 357-371. 

Bok: The Americanization of Edward Bok. 

Dunn: Community Civics (for City Schools ), Chapter V. 

Hill: Community Life and Civic Problems, Chapter VI. 

Hughes: Community Civics, pages 390-399. 

Jenks and Smith: We and Our Government, Chapter V. 

Lessons in Community and National Life: C-31: “Immigration.” 
Riis: The Making of an American. 

U. S. Bureau of Education Bulletin, 1915, No. 23, “Migration,” 
pages 41-42. 


If we fail, the cause of free self-government through¬ 
out the world will rock to its foundations; and therefore 
our responsibility is heavy, to ourselves, to the world 
as it is today, and to generations yet unborn. 

—Theodore Roosevelt, 


I 



CHAPTER IX 


ARTICLE I: THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT 

(Continued) 


That is the best government which desires to make 
the people happy and knows how to make them happy. 

— T. B. Macaulay. 


Section 8. Powers Given to Congress 

(Continued) 

Clause 5. Money Coinage; Standard of Weights and Measures. 

(Congress shall have power) To coin money, regulate the value thereof, 
and of foreign coin, and fix the standard of weights and measures. 

(a) Coinage of Money. No affair of government was in a 
worse state of confusion during the “Critical Period” than 
was the system of money of the country. (See page 34.) 
A great many different kinds of coins were in circulation. 
The same coin had one value in one State, and quite another 
value in another State. Moreover, coined money was so 
scarce that the ordinary business of daily life could hardly 
be carried on with it. Like the German mark and the 
Russian rouble after the World War, the paper money that 
had been issued in large quantity had fallen in value until 
it was worthless. Great distress was felt by the people 
everywhere. 

One step to improve the financial situation was taken, 
however, by the Congress of the Confederation in 1787. 
It adopted the “dollar” as the standard of value for the 

91 


92 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


[Art. I 


currency of the country. The dollar was a large silver coin 
which came into the States from Spanish-American coun¬ 
tries. It was sometimes known as a “piece of eight/’ be¬ 
cause it was divisible into eight smaller coins called “reals,” 
and was thus designated by the sign 8/8. It is thought 
probable that the dollar mark (“8”) which we use grew out 
of this sign. 

With a view to finding a remedy for the financial ills of the 
country, Clause 5 placed the power of coining money entirely 

in the hands of Congress. One 
of the first laws passed by the 
new Federal Government was 
one providing for coinage of 
gold, silver, and copper, and 
establishing a mint in Philadel¬ 
phia. There are now (1923) two 
other mints in operation: one 
in Denver and one in San Fran¬ 
cisco. These mints stamp all 
coins issued by the government 
of the United States. 

The coins now made at the 
mints of the United States are: 
(gold) double eagle, or $20 piece; 
eagle, or $10 piece; half eagle, or $5 piece; and quarter 
eagle, or $2.50 piece; (silver) one dollar; half dollar; quarter 
dollar; and dime. Minor coins of cheaper metal—the 
nickel, and the one-cent piece, or penny—are also made. 

Congress was also given power in Clause 5 to regulate the 
value of money. This means that Congress determines what 
amount of one metal (silver), shall be given in exchange for 
a given amount of the other (gold). Congress provided 
originally that the gold dollar should contain 24.75 grains 










Sec. 8] 


POWERS GIVEN CONGRESS 


93 


of pure metal, and the silver dollar 371.25 grains. This 
ratio gave rise to the expression “fifteen to one”—that is, 
that fifteen ounces of silver should be equal to one ounce of 
gold. In 1900, the gold dollar was changed to 25.8 grains. 

• ( b ) Paper Money. Congress also provides for other 
money in the form of bills or notes, which are used as freely 
as coined money. 

Paper money seldom lasts more than three years in circu¬ 
lation. The Federal Government accepts damaged paper 
money, if it can still be identified. When old notes are 
received by the government, they are either washed and 
cleaned by a process of laundering, or else they are ground 
into pulp. The paper money is engraved and printed in 
Washington. 

(c) Standard of Weights and Measures. Under the power 
granted to Congress in Clause 5, to “fix the standard of 
weights and measures,” the Federal Government has created 
at Washington a bureau in which are kept absolutely accurate 
standards for measuring weight, distance, capacity, heat 
or cold, and so forth. Thus there is always a place where 
our scientists may go to be sure that our thermometers, 
scales, yardsticks, gallon measures, and the like are abso¬ 
lutely accurate. The specially trained men from this 
bureau aid persons interested to solve problems connected 
with the use of such standards. 

Clause 6. Punisfunent for Counterfeiting. (Congress shall have 

power) To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities 
and current coin of the United States. 

* 

Counterfeiting is the making of false coin, bonds, notes, 
etc., (“securities”) with a view to passing them out for the 
true ones. The Federal Government employs detectives and 
other officials to protect the people against counterfeiters. 


94 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


[Art. I 


Clause 7. Postal Service. (Congress shall have power) To estab¬ 
lish post offices and post roads. 

“Post” means mail; and “post roads’ ’ means all routes 
over or upon which mail may go. These routes include 
ordinary roads, mountain paths, city streets, rivers, canal's, 
railroads, and even air routes.* The place officially kept as a 
station in which mail is deposited for transportation and 
distribution is a “post office.” 

The postal system has been highly developed. There were 



CARRYING THE MAIL IN FRONTIER DAYS 


seventy-five post offices in 1790; there were more than 
fifty thousand in 1923. The postal service is the place where 
we see clearly how greatly the Federal Government helps the 
people. In fact, the business of a great country like ours 
could not be conducted without cheap, rapid, and certain 
postal service.f In the early days, the rates of postage 
were so high as to prevent most people from mailing or re- 


*By the middle of 1923 transcontinental air postal service records had been estab¬ 
lished of slightly less than thirty hours’ time from New York City to San Francisco. 

tBy way of comparison, note that in Washington’s time it took from twelve to 
eighteen days for the post to carry a letter from Philadelphia to Boston and to bring 
back a reply. 





Sec. 8] 


POWERS GIVEN CONGRESS 


95 


ceiving letters, magazines, and newspapers.* But now, a 
two-cent stamp will take a letter (weighing an ounce or 
less) quickly and surely by steamboat, railroad, or air¬ 
plane from one part of the country to the other, and even 
to a number of foreign lands. Newspapers, magazines, and 
post cards are carried at even lower rates 

Formerly, a person went to a post office to get his mail. 
Nowadays, free delivery brings the mail daily to one’s door. 
If he lives in the city or town, a small additional fee gives 
him immediate, or “special” delivery. Important or valuable 
letters may be specially safeguarded (“registered”) by the 
payment of a small additional charge. In the country dis¬ 
tricts, rural free delivery enables the farmer to get his letters, 
or his daily paper, as readily as does the man in city or town. 
There are now many thousand of these rural routes and 
carriers. 

The postal service also helps the people in many other 
ways than merely by carrying letters. By means of the 
“money order” a person may send money from one point 
to another within the United States, or to foreign countries. 
One may insure letters or articles against loss to the amount 
of fifty dollars, recovering the amount from the government 
in case the letters or articles disappear. The postal-savings 
branch receives and keeps on deposit money paid in by 
thrifty people who would rather place their savings under 
the control of the government than under that of a private 
bank. Amounts as low as one dollar may be deposited. 
Any person, ten years of age or over, may open such an 
account. The parcel post takes packages of moderate size 
and sends them through the mails at a small price. Mil¬ 
lions of parcels are now handled each year in this way. 


*Thus, as late as 1858 the rate was ten cents to carry a half-ounce letter from 
St. Louis to San Francisco. 



96 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


[Art. I 


The post office has thus come to be a great, helpful busi¬ 
ness enterprise belonging to the people. It employs more 
than three hundred thousand workers, and does an annual 
volume of business equaled by few, if any, private com¬ 
panies. It is practically self-supporting; that is, its in¬ 
come and expenditures are about equal each year. The 
benefits the post office brings to the people are well told in 
this inscription on the post office in the city of Washington: 

Messenger of Sympathy and Love, 

Servant of Parted Friends, 

Consoler of the Lonely, 

Bond of the Scattered Family, 

Enlarger of the Common Life, 

Carrier of News and Knowledge, 

Instrument of Trade and Industry, 

Promoter of Mutual Acquaintance, 
of Peace and Goodwill 
Among Men and Nations. 

Clause 8. Copyrights and Patents. (Congress shall have power) 

To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for 
limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their 
respective writings and discoveries. 

Clause 8 provides a means by which a man may receive 
the rewards of the work of his brain and his hands. 

By meeting certain requirements an author is given the 
sole privilege of printing and selling his book for a period 
of twenty-eight years, and may secure an extension for a 
second period of the same length of time. This is called 
the “copyright.” By agreement with a large number of 
foreign nations, Congress has made it possible for American 
writers to secure copyright privileges in those countries as 
well, and for foreign authors to have the same privileges in 
the United States. The famous men and women who have 
contributed to American literature have been made secure 


Sec. 8] 


POWERS GIVEN CONGRESS 


97 


in the possession of their works through this useful pro¬ 
vision in the Constitution. 

Under certain rules, likewise, an inventor is granted the 
sole privilege of manufacturing and selling the machine, 
or other appliance, which he has been the first to devise. 
This is called the “patent right.” A patent is allowed to 
run for a period of seventeen years, but renewal may be 
allowed under certain special conditions. 

Only three patents were issued in the year 1790, when the 
original law went into effect. The first patent was one 
allowed to a man named Samuel Hopkins for an invention 
in connection with the making of potash in the manufacture 
of soap. Now, as many as forty thousand a year are granted, 
the total number issued by 1923 being over a million. 

We have only to mention some of our most illustrious 
inventors and their inventions to realize at once how useful 
their work has been to mankind. Upon that glorious roll 
of honor appear the names of Eli Whitney and the cotton 
gin; Robert Fulton and the steamboat; Samuel F. B. Morse 
and the electric telegraph; Cyrus B. McCormick and the 
threshing machine; Elias Howe and the sewing-machine; 
Alexander Graham Bell and the telephone; Thomas A. 
Edison and the electric lamp, the phonograph, and several 
hundred other electrical inventions; and the Wright Brothers 
and the airplane. These inventions alone are enough to 
make us understand the great value of the ability to invent, 
and to show us why it should be encouraged and protected. 

Clause 9. Lower Courts. (Congress shall have power) To con¬ 
stitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court. 

The provision in Clause 9 enables Congress to set up 
courts (“tribunals”) of lower rank than the Supreme Court. 
This subject will be treated at greater length when we 
come to study the subject of the federal courts in detail. 


98 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


[Art. I 


Clause 10. Piracies and Crimes on the High Seas; Offenses against 
the Law of Nations. (Congress shall have power) To define and punish 
piracies and felonies committed on the high seas, and offenses against 
the law of nations. 

Since the extreme crimes and offenses indicated in this 
clause relate to navigation and commerce, Congress was 
given power to pass laws in punishment of them, just as it 
has power to pass laws in other matters relating to foreign 
trade. 

Clause 11. Declaration of War. (Congress shall have power) To 

declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules 
concerning captures on land and water. 

A declaration of war gives notice that one nation is 
undertaking hostile military acts against another. The 
power to declare war is of supreme importance, as the life 
or death of countless numbers of people, and even of a 
nation itself, may be involved. For that reason, the 
founders of the Federal Government gave this power not to 
any one man, but only to the direct representatives of the 
people themselves, in Congress. 

Letters of “marque and reprisal” refer to official permits 
issued to privately owned vessels in time of war authorizing 
them to prey upon the enemy’s commerce. Formerly, 
these “privateers,” as they were called, were numerous. 
In recent wars, however, the United States government 
has not favored them. 

Clause 12. Raising Armies. (Congress shall have power) To raise 
and support armies; but no appropriation of money to that use shall 
be for a longer term than two years; 

Clause 13. The Navy. To provide and maintain a navy; 

Clause 1J+. Power Over the Military Forces. To make rules for 
the government and regulation of the land and naval forces. 

As in the case of the declaration of war, the power to 
“raise and support armies” is one of such life-and-death 


Sec. 8] 


POWERS GIVEN CONGRESS 


99 


consequence that only the representatives of the people, 
in Congress, were entrusted with its exercise. At the 
time when the Constitution was drawn up, the people had 
just come through the War of Independence. Partly on 
that account, they feared greatly the dangers which might 
come from the presence of a standing army in the country. 
If it should revolt, it might overthrow the government 
by force of arms. Therefore, the people were unwilling 
to leave even Congress free to maintain an army without 
having the definite approval of the people themselves at 
brief intervals of time. To make certain of this, the 
provision was made that the money voted for the support 
of armies should not be “for a longer term than two years”— 
a restriction not placed upon any other appropriation. As 
new representatives to the House are elected at the end of 
every period of two years, the people have in this way 
a direct voice in the control of the military forces. Clause 
14 further insures the people’s control through their repre¬ 
sentatives. 

Our standing army in times of peace (“regular army”) 
has always been small when compared with .the military 
forces of many other nations. In earlier days one of the 
chief uses to which the regular troops were put was that of 
controlling the Indians. That danger has passed away, 
but it is well to be prepared to defend ourselves against 
other dangers in case of need. For this purpose, the regu¬ 
lar army, which is now (1923) limited to 280,000 enlisted 
men, is stationed at different posts throughout the country 
and in our island possessions. 

Upon outbreak of war Congress may also authorize the 
President to call for volunteers, or to “draft” citizens, as 
was done during the World War. 

The Government maintains an academy for the educa- 


100 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


I Art. I 



WEST POINT CAMPUS—WHERE OUR ARMY OFFICERS ARE TRAINED 


tion of army officers, at West Point, on the Hudson Kiver 
(established in 1802). This school is one of the best of its 
kind in th$ world. Upon graduation, these “cadets” 
are given commissions as second lieutenants in the regular 
army. 

The fear of military control held by the founders of the 
government did not extend to the navy. There is no 
two-year restriction upon appropriations for the navy. 

The government conducts an academy at Annapolis, 
Maryland, for the education of officers for the navy. Upon 
graduation, these “midshipmen” are given commissions as 
ensigns. 

One of the branches of the service in the navy is the 
Marine Corps. Naval militia organizations have been 
formed in a number of States. 





Sec. S] 


POWERS GIVEN CONGRESS 


101 


Clauses 15 and 16. Power Over State Militia. (Congress shall have 
power) To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of 
the Union, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions; 

To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the militia, and 
for governing such part of them as may be employed in the service 
of the United States, reserving to the States, respectively, the appoint¬ 
ment of the officers, and the authority of training the militia according 
to the discipline prescribed by Congress. 

The militia is the body of citizen-soldiers called into 
active service only when grave dangers arise. It is open 
to all able-bodied male citizens between eighteen and forty- 
five years of age. 

The provisions of Clauses 15 and 16 give Congress as 
full power over the militia “to suppress insurrections and 
repel invasions/’ as it has over the regular army. In 
most States the militia is organized into regiments which 
are known as the “National Guard.” 

Clause 17. The Seat of our Federal Government. (Congress shall 
have power) To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever, 
over such district (not exceeding ten miles square) as may, by cession 
of particular States, and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat 
of the government of the United States, and to exercise like authority 
over all places purchased by the consent of the legislature of the 
State in which the same shall be, for the erection of forts, magazines, 
arsenals, dockyards, and other needful buildings. 

During the “Critical Period,” Congress had had no fixed 
meeting place. It had wandered from place to place, as 
circumstances made necessary. On one occasion a band of 
unpaid soldiers had driven Congress from Philadelphia 
into Princeton. (See page 34.) With these incidents 
fresh in mind, the framers of the Constitution took care 
that Congress should be given power to establish a seat of 
government, over which it would have complete and sole 
control. This step they took in Clause 17. 


102 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


[Art. I 


One of the bitter contests in the first session of Congress 
centered about the location of a permanent site for the 
national capital. The question was settled in 1790, when 
Congress accepted one hundred square miles of land offered 
by the States of Maryland and Virginia, and lying on each 
side of the Potomac River. The location was named the 
‘'District of Columbia,” and the capital city, “Washington.”* 
President Washington had himself chosen the location of 
the city named after him, not far distant from his own 
home, Mt. Vernon. 

The several branches of the government were moved to 
their new home on the banks of the Potomac in June, 1800, 
and Congress met for the first time in the capital city in 
December of that year. The city was planned by Major 
l’Enfant, a French engineer. In 1793, President Washing¬ 
ton placed the cornerstone of the Capitol. The structure 
was yet unfinished when Congress came to occup}^ it. 
The cornerstone of the President’s official residence was 
laid by President Washington in 1792. John Adams was 
the first President to occupy it, in 1800, though it was 
hardly ready for use. The building was set on fire by 
British troops in 1814. On being rebuilt it was painted 
white, and thus gained the name, “The White House.” 

In the beginning, the public structures of Washington 
were ugly, the streets unpaved, the open distances numerous. 
Nowadays, the wonderful public buildings, beautiful monu¬ 
ments, luxurious hotels and private homes, and well-kept 
parks and avenues, make Washington one of the dream- 
cities of the earth. 

The legislative authority of Congress over the District 
of Columbia is complete and exclusive. The inhabitants 

*In 1S4G, that portion of the area of the District ar'ceptel from Virginia was re¬ 
turned to that State, because it was not needed. 





Sec. 8] 


POWERS GIVEN CONGRESS 


103 



THE WHITE HOUSE 


are not permitted to vote in the District, and have no 
other political rights. Congress, itself, acts as the law¬ 
making body of the District. The laws are carried out by 
three commissioners appointed by the President, with the 
consent of the Senate. 

Clause 18. Power to Make All Necessary Laws. (Congress shall 
have power) To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper 
for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers 
vested by this Constitution in the government of the United States, 
or in any department or officer thereof. 

The meaning of the general statement in Clause 18 is 
that Congress is given the right to make any laws that may 
be necessary to help it do the things given it to do in the 
Constitution. For example, while no mention is made of it 
in the Constitution, Congress may prevent all delays or 
other obstructions in the carrying of the mails, since it is 
given power to establish the postal service. 







104 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


[Art. I 


By reason of the broad meaning given to Clause 18 by 
the courts, it has come to be one of the most important 
provisions of the Constitution. 

Questions and Problems 

1. Why are newspapers, magazines, etc., carried at a lower rate of 

postage than letters? 

2. In what ways may you help the postal service? 

3. How much money is deposited in the postal-savings division 

of the post office in your community each year? Have you a 
deposit there? 

4. It has been proposed that- Congress be deprived of the power 

to declare war until a nation-wide vote in favor of such action 
be had. What reasons do you see in support of such a plan? 
What reasons in opposition? 

5. Have you ever invented anything? If so, tell the class about it. 

Suggested Activities 

1. If you can do so, visit a United States mint and make a report 

to the class. 

2. If you cannot do so, look up information as to how metal is 

coined into money, and report to the class. 

3. Write compositions upon: 

(а) The journey of a letter from Detroit to Constanti¬ 

nople; from New Orleans to Manila. 

(б) The origin of the postage stamp. 

(c) The Postal-Savings Bank in this communitj". 

(d) The future of the airplane postal service. 

(e) A visit to the “Dead Letter Office.” 

4. Bring a collection of postage stamps to class. 

5. Visit one or more departments of the local post office. Make 

a report to the class upon what you learned at first hand of 
the work being done in the office. 

6. Visit a railway mail car and talk over with the mail clerk what 

his duties are. Tell the story to the class. 

7. Read the life of some great American inventor. Re-tell the 

story of his achievements to the class. 

8. Bring to class photographs illustrating the Capitol, the White 

House, and other public buildings; also photographs of other 
objects and places of interest in Washington and vicinity, or 
newspaper or magazine articles descriptive of them. 


POWERS GIVEN CONGRESS 


105 


9. Make a summary outline of the chief law-making powers of 
Congress under these main heads. (Include the details that 
are brought out in the discussion of the clauses.) 1. Raising 
money; 2. Commerce; 3. Citizenship; 4. Issuing money; 
5. Postal service; 6. Science and useful arts; 7. Lower 
courts; 8. Military affairs; 9. Seat of government; 10. 
Other powers. 


Topic References 

Making Our Money 

DuPuv: Uncle Sam’s Modern Miracles, pages 202-212. 

Haskin: The American Government, pages 28-32. 

Lessons in Community and National Life: C-13: “Paper Money”: 
C-22: “The Minting of Coins.” 

Weights and Measures 

Haskin: The American Government, pages 170-182. 

Lessons in Community and National Life: B-21: “National Stand¬ 
ards and the Bureau of Standards.” 

Our Postal Service 

Haskin: The American Government, pages 65-77. 

Literary Digest: Vol. LXVII, pages 76-82. 

Marriott: Uncle Sam’s Business, pages 281-296. 

Review of Reviews'. Vol. LXIV, pages 625-640. 

Roper: The United States Post Office. 

Patents and Copyrights 

Forman: Stories of Useful Inventions. 

Haskin: The American Government, pages 91-102. 

Lessons in Community and National Life: C-12: “Patents and 
Inventions”; C-9: “Inventions.” 

Mowry: American Inventions and Inventors. 

The National Capital 

Haskin: The American Government, pages 374-386. 

Southworth and Kramer: Great Cities of the United States, pages 
265-296. 


CHAPTER X 

ARTICLE I: THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT 

(Continued) 


To live under the American Constitution is the 
greatest political privilege that was ever accorded to 
the human race .—President Calvin Coolidge. 


Sections 9 and 10: Powers Denied Congress 
and the State Governments 

(.4) POWERS DENIED TO CONGRESS 

It may be well at this point for us to bring back to mind 
that the government of the United States can move only 
within a fixed circle of powers. The Constitution allows it 
to do just so much, and no more, to go just so far, and no 
farther. (See pages 20, 51, 52.) 

First, since the States have powers, too, Congress must 
stay within its own circle, and not cross over into that of 
the States. Second, since the executive and judicial de¬ 
partments have their own powers, Congress must keep 
within its bounds, and not exercise powers belonging to 
the other two departments. 

The framers of the Constitution evidently thought that 
these general limitations upon Congress were not enough. 
In the main, they wanted to prevent beyond any question 
the exercise of certain powers which history had shown might 
lead to injustice or other abuse. They knew that if these 
powers were exercised, great harm and wrong would result. 

106 


Sec. 9] 


POWERS DENIED CONGRESS 


107 


So, in Section 9, they forbade the Federal Government from 
taking any action in certain matters. 

Section 9. Clause 1. Slave Trade. The migration or importa¬ 
tion of such persons as any of the States now existing shall think 
proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the 
year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a tax or duty may 
be imposed on such importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each 
person. 

Clause 1 grew out of one of the great compromises of 
the Constitutional Convention. The word “persons” re¬ 
fers to negro slaves. The clause dealt with a temporary 
condition. As soon as the year 1808 was reached, Congress 
stopped the slave trade; and afterward, in 1820, declared 
it to be “piracy.” By this law, the punishment for any 
persons found guilty of engaging in the trade to import 
slaves was fixed at death. 

Clause 2. The Right of Habeas Corpus. The privilege of the writ 
of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in cases of 
rebellion or invasion the public safety may require. 

As we go far back into history, we find that rulers had 
powers of life and death over their peoples. Men were 
put to death, or were thrown into cells where they fell sick 
or died, even when they had done no wrong, and at the 
mere word of their rulers. In England, the people struggled 
for centuries against this power, until slowly and painfully 
they gained freedom from unjust arrest. The legal form 
that they developed as the means of assuring them such 
freedom is one of the most valuable rights of all those that 
have to do with our personal liberty. It is given the name 
of the “Writ of Habeas Corpus .” 

The words habeas corpus mean, “You may have the 
body.” These were the opening words, in Latin, of the 


108 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


[Art. I 


old legal form or order (“writ”) issued by a judge to an 
officer, directing him to bring into court the person who 
complained of being unlawfully deprived of personal liberty. 

Under Clause 2 our people are protected against unjust 
arrest and imprisonment, as far as the Federal Government 
is concerned. A man may be deprived of personal liberty 
only if he has broken the laws. If, by any means, he is 
held unjustly, he has (or his friends have) the right to appeal 
to a judge of the proper court, asking him to inquire into 
the facts of the case. The judge may then order an officer 
to bring the prisoner into court, without delay, for a hear¬ 
ing and will set him free if it appears that he is being held 
without good cause. The effect of this order, then, is to 
assure every person of an immediate hearing should he be 
deprived of liberty. 

Clause 2 declares that the writ shall be in force at all 
times, ‘ ‘unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion,” the 
public safety may require an interruption of its use. During 
our Civil War, the writ was suspended. 

Clause 3. Bills of Attainder; Ex Post Facto Laws . No bill of 

attainder or ex post facto law shall be passed. 

(a) Bills of Attainder. In former days when a man was 
convicted of a serious crime, not only was he punished, but 
very often all his property was taken from him, both land 
and money. Furthermore, he and his family lost all their 
rights and privileges as citizens of their country. Bills of 
attainder were legislative acts imposing these penalties on 
a man, thus causing his innocent family and heirs to suffer 
for his misdeeds. 

( b ) Ex post facto laws. The term ex post facto refers 
to laws punishing persons for crimes that did not call for 
the punishment fixed, at the time when they were com- 


Sec. 9] 


POWERS DENIED CONGRESS 


109 


mitted. For example, a person might have committed a 
crime five years ago, or longer, which was punishable only 
by a small fine, or perhaps it was not a violation of the law 
at all at that time. This clause makes sure that this person 
cannot be made to suffer a greater punishment because of 
a law which may be passed after he has committed the mis¬ 
deed, or be punished for something that did not call for 
punishment when it was done. 

In days gone by great injustice was often done by rulers 
who wished to get rid of certain men or injure them, and 
still seem to do so lawfully. They would, therefore, pass a 
law —ex post facto law—providing punishment for some¬ 
thing those persons had done, perhaps years before. 

The cruel uses to which these two powers might be put, 
led the makers of the Constitution to forbid their exercise 
altogether. 

Clause 4- Direct Taxes. No capitation or other direct tax shall 
be laid, unless in proportion to the census or enumeration herein¬ 
before directed to be taken. (Read, at this point, the XVIth Amend¬ 
ment, page 184.) 

We have already discussed the meaning of direct taxes. 
(See page 80.) Such taxes, says Clause 4, must be in 
proportion to population. The provision was intended 
to distribute the burden as fairly as possible among the 
States by making the amount paid in proportion to the 
people in the State. The XVIth Amendment changes the 
provision of Clause 4, to permit taxes upon the incomes of 
the people. 

Clause 5. Export Duties. No tax or duty shall be laid on articles 
exported from any State. 

The denial of power to Congress to lay a tax upon goods 
shipped abroad (“export duties”) should be read in con- 


110 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


[Art. I 



UNITED STATES CUSTOM HOUSE AT NEW YORK CITY 


nection with the powers of Congress over taxation. (See 
pages 79-81.) Congress may tax goods entering America, 
but not those passing from State to State or those sent 
abroad. The idea is that our manufacturers and producers 
may not be hindered in selling their goods. 

Clause 6. Uniform Regulations for All Ports. No preference shall 
be given by any regulation of commerce or revenue to the ports of 
one State over those of another; nor shall vessels bound to, or from, 
one State, be obliged to enter, clear, or pay duties in another. 

The first part of Clause 6 means that all ports of the 
country shall be treated alike, in respect to rules bearing 
upon “commerce or revenue.” The second part of the 
Clause refers to official papers that ships must have before 
they may enter, or leave, a port. These provisions are 
intended to prevent one State, or a group of States, from 










Sec. 9] 


POWERS DENIED CONGRESS 


111 


having any legal advantage over others in matters related 
to cargoes on the water. 

Clause 7. Control Over the Public Money. No money shall be 
drawn from the treasury but in consequence of appropriations made 
by law; and a regular statement and account of the receipts and ex¬ 
penditures of all public money shall be published from time to time. 

In an earlier section we have noted that Congress is 
granted the right to raise money. To make that right 
effective, Congress must also have the power to control 
the spending of public funds. This power is granted in 
Clause 7. Bills supplying money for the various uses of 
the government are passed annually by Congress (“ap¬ 
propriation bills”). As we have already seen, such bills 
must be introduced first in the House of Representatives. 

Clause 8. Titles of Nobility. No title of nobility shall be granted 
by the United States: and no person holding any office of profit or 
trust under them, shall, without the consent of the Congress, accept 
of any present, emolument, office, or title, of any kind whatever, from 
any king, prince, or foreign State. 

As is the case today, many foreign nations at the time 
the Constitution was drawn up had kings and other officers 
higher in rank than the “common people.” These persons 
were given “titles of nobility”—such as “prince,” “duke,” 
“earl,” or “marquis.” 

The government of the United States differed from other 
nations by being founded on the idea expressed in the 
Declaration of Independence that all men were “created 
equal.” A plain outgrowth of such a principle was the 
provision in Clause 8, forbidding the giving of “titles of 
nobility” by the Federal Government, and the acceptance of 
titles by officials of the United States from foreign govern¬ 
ments, “without the consent of Congress.” 


112 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


[Art. I 


(. B) POWERS DENIED TO THE STATES 

Once again let us recall the fact that under our form 
of government all powers start from the people. (See 
pages 17, 52.) In the Constitution the people took certain 
powers from the States and gave them to the Federal 
Government. They permitted the exercise of certain 
powers by the States, and they also prohibited the exercise 
of certain powers by the States. 

At the time the Constitution was drawn up, as we have 
seen, the States had their separate governments. The 
State governments at that time were strong. The union 
under the Articles of Confederation had been weak. The 
men in the Constitutional Convention felt that it was 
as necessary to protect the rights of the people against 
the States as against the Federal Government. Therefore, 
in Section 10, they laid down a number of prohibitions 
upon the powers to be exercised by the States, much as 
they had done in Section 9, in respect to those denied to 
the Federal Government. 

Section 10. Clause 1. Prohibitions in Respect to Treaties , Coinage 
of Money, Obligation of Contracts, etc. No State shall enter into any 
treaty, alliance, or confederation; grant letters of marque and re¬ 
prisal; coin money; emit bills of credit; make anything but gold and 
silver coin a tender in payment of debts; pass any bill of attainder, 
ex post facto law, or law impairing the obligation of contracts, or 
grant any title of nobility. 

The prohibitions laid upon the States in Clause 1 are of 
two chief kinds. First are those powers which are denied 
to the States because they had already been granted to 
the Federal Government. These include the powers to 
enter into treaties, grant letters of marque and reprisal, 
coin money, issue paper currency (“emit bills of credit”), 
or require creditors to accept other money than gold or 


Sec. 10] 


POWERS DENIED THE STATES 


113 


silver in payment of lawful debts. If these powers were 
given to both governments, much confusion, and possibly 
danger, would result. Second are those powers which had 
already been denied to the Federal Government in order to 
prevent grave abuse, or injustice. Bills of attainder, ex 
post facto laws, and titles of nobility are of this sort. Laws 
“impairing the obligation of contracts” mean those that 
weaken or destroy the binding force of agreements (“con¬ 
tracts”) between persons to do, or not to do, certain things. 

Clause 2. Prohibitions Upon Duties . No State shall, without the 
consent of the Congress, lay any imposts or duties on imports or 
exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for executing its 
inspection laws; and the net produce of all duties and imposts, laid 
by any State on imports or exports, shall be for the use of the treasury 
of the United States; and all such laws shall be subject to the revision 
and control of the Congress. 

The prohibitions in Clause 2 are intended to keep the 
control of commerce in the hands of Congress, since com¬ 
merce is a matter of national interest. 

Clause 3. Prohibitions Against Duties Upon Tonnage , Keeping of 
Troops, Ships, and Engaging in War. No State shall, without the 

h 

consent of Congress, lay any duty of tonnage, keep troops, or ships of 
war, in time of peace, enter into any agreement or compact with another 
State, or with a foreign power, or engage in war, unless actually in¬ 
vaded, or in such imminent danger as will not admit of delay. 

A “duty of tonnage” means a tax laid on ships by the 
ton, according to their carrying capacity. This prohibition 
is also necessary in order that the Federal Government 
alone may deal with commerce among the States and with 
foreign countries. 

The provisions forbidding the States to keep troops and 
ships, and to engage in war except in circumstances of 
immediate danger, were absolutely necessary to the existence 


114 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


[Art. I 


of the Federal Government. If the States had been allowed 
to exercise such powers, the dangers and difficulties con¬ 
fronting the Federal Government would probably have 
brought about its early downfall. 

Summary of the Legislative Department 

We have now completed our study of the first of the three 
great departments of government. We have seen how our 
national law-making body is divided into two branches, 
how our law-makers are elected, what qualifications they 
must meet before they may hold office, and how they carry 
on their work. We have taken up the many powers that 
the people have given to Congress, and we have found 
also that they have denied certain powers to Congress and 
to the States. 

By the plan of having two houses, both of which must 
agree upon a bill before it can become a law, the people 
are guarded against hurried, insufficiently considered laws. 
By having the members of one house elected every two 
years, the people are enabled without long wait to show 
their disapproval of the acts of their representatives, if 
they desire. The powers which the people have given to 
Congress secure for us a strong central government which 
can care for the needs of the country as a whole, and at 
the same time leave to the States the right to handle those 
matters that belong to them in particular. 

We are now r ready to take up our study of the next great 
branch of our national government—the executive, or law- 
enforcing, department. 

Questions and Problems 

1. What clauses in this chapter assure us of certain rights as a free 
people? 


POWERS DENIED THE STATES 


115 


2. What clauses protect the States in certain matters? 

3. Tell why you think our country is better off without “nobles.” 

4. What clauses show that we have a strong central government, 

such as Alexander Hamilton believed in? 

5. How is money drawn from the treasury of the United States? 

Suggested Activities 

1. If your father is a lawyer, ask him to tell you about the use of 

the right of habeas corpus. Report to the class. 

2. Ask your father to tell you about some appropriations that Con¬ 

gress has made recently. Report to the class. 

3. Make a list of the powers denied the Federal Government; the 

powers denied the States; the powers which the States cannot 
exercise without the consent of Congress. 

Topic References 

Hughes: Community Civics, pages 23-24, 237-239. 

Wade and Russell: The Short Constitution, pages 144-155. 


The God who gave us life, gave us liberty at the 
same time. —Thomas Jefferson. 



CHAPTER XI 

ARTICLE II: THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT 


Let every inhabitant make known his determination 
to support law and order. That duty is supreme. 

—President Calvin Coolidge. 


Section 1: The President and the Vice President 

Clause 1. Term of Office. The executive power shall be vested 
in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his 
office during the term of four years, and, together with the Vice 
President, chosen for the same term, be elected as follows: 

Clause 2. Method of Election. Each State shall appoint, in such 
manner as the legislature thereof may direct, a number of electors, 
equal to the whole number of senators and representatives to which 
the State may be entitled in the Congress; but no senator or repre¬ 
sentative, or person holding an office of trust or profit under the 
United States, shall be appointed an elector. 

Clause 8. Displaced by Amendment XII. (See page 180.) 

Clause 4- Time of Election. The Congress may determine the 
time of choosing the electors, and the day on which they shall give 
their votes; which day shall be the same throughout the United States. 

Much of the weakness of the central government under 
the Articles of Confederation was due to the lack of a real 
executive (law-enforcing) authority. (See page 32.) 

The members of the Constitutional Convention realized 
this weakness, and were determined to remove it. They 
felt that the executive should be a strong part of the new 
Federal Government. Yet they feared greatly, from their 
recent bitter experience with the British King, that a strong 
executive might make himself an autocrat. After much 
discussion, they decided that the executive should be a 

116 


Sec. 1] 


PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS 


117 


single person, whose powers should be kept within strict 
bounds. The name chosen for this officer was “President,” 
the title of the chief officer in the old Congress of the 
Confederation. 

How long the President should remain in office caused 
much debate in the Convention. Hamilton and Madison 
thought the President should serve during good behavior; 
but others thought that would be too much like creating a 
kingship. The Convention finally fixed the term at four 
years, half-way between the terms of representatives and 
senators. This period in office, they felt, was too brief to 
allow a President to overthrow the people’s rights and 
become a tyrant. 

There is nothing in the Constitution to prevent a President 
from being reelected to office as many times as the people 
wish. However, it has come to be the custom, following the 
example set by George Washington, for a President to retire 
from office at the end of a second term, if he has served that 
long. This custom has come to have almost as much force 
as if it were actually written in the Constitution. 

How to choose the President was also a very difficult 
problem for the makers of the Constitution to solve. Various 
methods were suggested, until at last it was decided to have 
the President (and the Vice President) chosen by a body of 
men to be known as “electors,” which should meet and 
perform this duty, and no other. This body, taken as a 
whole, is often referred to as the “electoral college.” 

The plan of choosing the electors first put in the Consti¬ 
tution, is no longer in effect, although Presidents Washing¬ 
ton, John Adams, and Jefferson (first term) were chosen 
in accordance with its provisions. In 1804, to avoid con¬ 
fusion, the method was changed to the one given in Amend¬ 
ment XII. 


118 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


[Art. II 


The electors are now chosen in each State by direct vote 
of the people. Each State is entitled to choose a body of 
electors equal to the total number of its representatives and 
senators in Congress. In the election of 1920, there were 
531 votes in the electoral college. Congress has set the date 
of presidential elections as the first Tuesday after the first 
Monday in November of years that are evenly divisible by 
four, as 1916, 1920, 1924, etc. 

The makers of the Constitution thought that the electors 
would be men specially qualified for their great responsibility. 
They expected that the electors would be perfectly free to 
use their best personal judgment in selecting the fittest 
persons for the presidency and vice presidency. However, 
while the electors still have that legal right, they do not 
exercise it any longer. (Washington alone was chosen accord¬ 
ing to the original idea. He received all the votes in the 
electoral college both times he was elected President.) 
The practice has become established for the electors to be 
bound in advance (“pledged”) to vote for a certain candi¬ 
date. They would break faith with the people if they should 
set aside their pledges and cast their votes for someone else; 
and this has never been done. 

This change in the original idea has come about through 
the rise of political parties—bodies of men holding similar 
views on public questions. We shall wish to know, then, 
how this party system actually works in the election of a 
President and a Vice President. 

Each political party has at its head a “national commit¬ 
tee.” A few months before a presidential election is to be 
held, this committee calls a meeting (“national convention”) 
for the purpose of selecting its candidates for President and 
Vice President. The convention is made up of delegates 
from all the states and territories, chosen by the party mem- 


Sec. 1] 


PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS 


119 


bers. The total number of delegates is frequently one 
thousand or more. 

The convention sits in a great hall, usually in a large city, 
like Chicago, or Baltimore. Bands play; flags wave; famous 
orators make fervent appeals; men burst into storms of 
cheers lasting for an hour or more at a time. In the midst 
of it all, the party adopts its “platform.” The platform 


3rd CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT 


1 DEMOCRATIC Q 

REPUBLICAN O 

SOCIALIST O 

sol 

FOR PRESIDENT OF THE 

FOR PRESIDENT OF THE 

FOR PRESIDENT OF THE 

for/ 

UNITED STATES 

UNITED STATES 

UNITED STATES 


JAMES M. Ul 

of Ohio 

WARREN G. HAMS 

of Ohio 

EDGEJEJ. DEBS 


FOR VICE PRESIDENT OF 

FOR VICE-PRESIDENT OF 

FOR VICE PRESIDENT OF 

F0R\ 

THE UNITED STATES 

THE UNITED STATES 

THE UNITED STATES 

Tlf 

FRANKLIN D.R00SEVELT 

of Now York 

CALVIN CUE 

of MoMochuoctte 

SEYMOUR STEDMAN 

of Ulinow 

All 


FOR ELECTORS OF PRESIDENT FOR ELECTORS OF PRESIDENT 
AND VICE PRESIDENT OF THE AND VICE PRESIDENT OP THE 
UHITED STATES UNITED STATES 

□ CHARLES C. CRAIG □ GEORGE R. CAMPBELL 

Galesburg Monica 

0 W. EMERY LANCASTER □ A. J.PICKRELL 

t~~l rtnnfi 


FOR ELECTORS OF PRESIDENT FOR ELECT 
ANO VICE PRESIDENT OF THE AND VICE/ 
UNITED STATES Ulf 

L BOUNCER PERC 


□ GEORGE CHANT 



A SPECIMEN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION BALLOT (1920) 


states the principles and policies that the party promises 
to carry into effect, and upon which it will go before the 
people for votes. The separate statements in the platform 
are said to be its “planks.” Finally, amid scenes of tre¬ 
mendous excitement and enthusiasm, the party nomina¬ 
tions for President, and then for Vice President, are made. 

A list (“ticket”) of party candidates to be voted for by the 
people as presidential and vice presidential electors, is ar¬ 
ranged in each State. It is understood that these electors, if 
chosen, will vote for their own party nominees for President 








120 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


[Art. II 


and Vice President. The party nominees for President and 
Vice President issue letters of acceptance, in which they 
agree, if elected, to work for the principles and policies laid 
down in the party platform. The “campaign” is now under 
good headway—that is to say, the political parties have 
begun their work to secure the election of their respective 
tickets. 

A presidential campaign usually lasts about four months. 
During this period, newspapers and magazines print a mass 
of political news—articles and editorials for the voters to 
read. Millions of pamphlets, advertisements, posters, 
cartoons, and similar kinds of material, are scattered broad¬ 
cast. Numerous public meetings (“rallies”) are held at 
which the people gather to listen to the appeals of noted 
speakers (“spell-binders”). Sometimes, even the presi¬ 
dential nominees themselves tour the country on speech¬ 
making trips. These activities carried on under the direc¬ 
tion of the political parties, all lead to one end—the choice 
of a President and a Vice President, by the people, through 
the form of the electoral college set up in Amendment XII. 

All this elaborate method of selecting a President, we 
must remember, was not provided for in the Constitution. 
It has gradually grown up, within the law, and been ac¬ 
cepted by the people. 

It is interesting at this point to consider the important 
part that geography plays in the choice of a President. 
In the early days of the Republic, the State of Virginia 
supplied so many Presidents that she gained the title of 
“The Mother of Presidents.” More recently, the State 
of Ohio has succeeded to this honor. In the election of 
1920 the presidential nominees of both leading political 
parties came from Ohio. No President has yet served 
from a State west of the Mississippi River. The Southern 


Sec. 1] 


PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS 


121 


States have not had a President from among them since 
the middle of the nineteenth century. Nor had the New 
England States had one from their midst for more than 
sixty-five years, when President Coolidge took the oath 
of office upon the death of President Harding, in 1923. 

Clause 5. Qualifications of the President. No person except a nat¬ 
ural-born citizen, or a citizen of the United States at the time of the 
adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the office of Pres¬ 
ident; neither shall any person be eligible to that office who shall not 
have attained to the age of thirty-five years, and been fourteen years a 
resident within the United States. 

The President must be a native-born citizen. An ex¬ 
ception was made that a person might become President 
who was “a citizen of the United States at the time of the 
adoption” of the Constitution. As we have already found, 
many of the noted Americans of that period, among them 
Alexander Hamilton, had been born in other lands. This 
provision was inserted in appreciation of their patriotic 
services to their adopted country. The age and residence 
qualifications for the President are somewhat higher than 
are the requirements for a senator. The Vice President 
must meet the same qualifications as the President. 

Clause 6. Succession to the Presidency. In case of the removal of 
the President from office, or of his death, resignation, or inability 
to discharge the powers and duties of the said office, the same shall 
devolve on the Vice President; and the Congress may by law provide 
for the case of removal, death, resignation, or inability both of the 
President and Vice President, declaring what officer shall then act as 
President, and such officer shall act accordingly, until the disability 
be removed, or a President shall be elected. 

The Vice President becomes President, in case of a 
vacancy. As we have already noted, the President can 
be removed from his position only through impeachment. 


122 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


[Art. II 


(See page 67.) Six Presidents have died in office, and 
Vice Presidents have served for the remainders of the 
original terms. One of these Vice Presidents, Theodore 
Roosevelt, was afterwards elected President. One of them, 
Calvin Coolidge, is now (1923) completing the term of 
the late President Harding. When the office of Vice 
President becomes vacant, no appointment is made to 
fill it. Congress has passed a law providing that the 
Secretary of State, Secretary of War, etc., in a fixed order, 
shall succeed to the presidency for the unexpired term, 
in case neither the elected President, nor the Vice President, 
can serve. 

Clause 7. The President's Salary. The President shall, at stated 
times, receive for his services a compensation which shall neither be 
increased nor diminished during the period for which he shall have 
been elected, and he shall not receive within that period any other 
emolument from the United States, or any of them. 

The President receives a salary of $75,000 a year; the 
Vice President, $12,000. The President is also allowed 
an “executive mansion”—the White House—in which 
to live. 

The provision that the President’s salary “shall neither 
be increased nor diminished” during his term was intended 
to keep him from becoming either dependent upon the 
goodwill, or subject to the ill-will, of Congress. The same 
idea was present in the provision relating to “other” emolu¬ 
ments (salaries or gifts). 

Clause 8. The Oath of Office. Before he enters on the execution 
of his office, he shall take the following oath or affirmation: “I do 
solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of 
President of the United States; and will, to the best of my ability, 
preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.” 

All that the Constitution requires the newly elected 


Sec. 1] 


PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS 


123 



CALVIN COOLIDGE BEING SWORN IN AS PRESIDENT 

(The words of the oath were sent him over long distance telephone from Washington 
to Plymouth, Vermont, where he was visiting his father when President Hard¬ 
ing died. His father, a justice of the peace, administered the oath.) 


President to do, before taking office at the beginning of his 
term, is to pronounce the words given in Clause 7. 

The Congress of the Confederation had set March 4, 
1789, as the date for the taking of the oath of office (“in¬ 
auguration”) by the first President, George Washington, 
but, on account of delays, he did not take the oath until 
April 30th. How r ever, March 4th has remained the date 
of inauguration of all Presidents since that time. It is 
said that Benjamin Franklin proposed that date because 
it would fall on Sunday less often than any other during 
the first two centuries following. 

A very imposing ceremony surrounds the inauguration 
of the President. Immense crowds of people visit the 
beautiful capital city to witness the brilliant scene. 









124 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


[Art. II 


The President and the President-elect ride together in 
a formal parade from the White House to the Capitol. A 
platform is built at the Capitol upon which are seated the 
members of Congress, the representatives of foreign nations, 
and other distinguished persons. The Chief Justice of the 
Supreme Court of the United States holds out a Bible 
to the incoming President, who places his hand upon it 
and repeats the words of the oath of office as found in the 
Constitution. He then delivers a message to the people, 
known as the “inaugural address.” Several of these 
addresses—for example, the two delivered by President 
Lincoln—live in our history and literature. When this 
ceremony is completed, the President is escorted to the 
White House, and takes up the duties of office. 


Questions and Problems 

1. Why has no President ever run for office for a third term? 

2. What change in the election of the President, giving the people 

more direct power and influence, has taken place since the 
Constitution was framed? 

3. What dangers did the framers of the Constitution fear from the 

office of President? 

4. What is a national party nominating convention? 

5. What Vice Presidents have become Presidents? 

Suggested Activities 

% 

1. Secure a good photograph of the President. Bring it to class. 

2. Read newspaper and magazine articles upon his life and char¬ 

acter, and re-tell to the class. 

3. Write a composition upon the topics: (a) The Story of the 

White House. (6) What I shall do when President (boys 
and girls alike). 

4. Secure photographs and newspaper (or magazine) articles 

descriptive of the last presidential inauguration. Show 
them, or read them, to the class. 

5. Read selected portions of the inaugural addresses of Presidents 

Washington, Jefferson, and Lincoln. 


PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS 


125 


6. Hold a presidential convention of a political party (the class 

making up the membership of the convention). Make 
nominations for President and Vice President. 

7. Suggested proposition for debate: 

(1) Resolved, that the President should be elected for a six- 
year term and be ineligible to succeed himself in office. 

Topic References 

Adams: A Community Civics, pages 330-347. 

Century Magazine, Vol. LXXI, pages 641-652, “The President and 
His Day’s Work.” 

Haskin: The American Government, pages 1-13, (the President); pages 
387-398, (National Political Campaigns). 

Howe: New Era Civics, Chapters XIX and XX. 

Taft: Our Chief Magistrate and His Powers. 


The very essence of free government consists in 
considering offices as public trusts, bestowed for the 
good of the country. —John C. Calhoun. 



CHAPTER XII 


ARTICLE II: THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT 

(Continued) 

The people.can have a government as 

good as they themselves make it, or as bad as they 
suffer it to become .—Joseph W. Folk. 


Sections 2, 3, and 4: Powers and Duties of 

the President 

Section 2. Clause 1. Presidential Powers. The President shall be 
commander in chief of the army and navy of the United States, and 
of the militia of the several States when called into the actual service 
of the United States; he may require the opinion, in writing, of the 
principal officer in each of the executive departments, upon any 
subject relating to the duties of their respective offices; and he shall 
have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the 
United States, except in cases of impeachment. 

(1) Commander in chief of the Army , Navy, and Militia. 
In studying the powers of Congress, we found that that 
body alone could declare war, raise and maintain an army 
and a navy, make rules to govern the land and naval 
forces, and call out the militia. We also found why the 
founders of the government placed these large powers in 
the hands of Congress alone. (See page 99.) 

However, a single head to the military and naval estab¬ 
lishment is necessary in order to prepare for and to carry 
on wars successfully, as well as to put down any serious 
resistance to the laws when ordinary means have failed. 

126 



Sec. 2] 


PRESIDENTIAL POWERS AND DUTIES 


127 


lor this reason, the founders of the government made the 
President “commander in chief” of the military forces of 
the nation. 

In time of war it is not cus¬ 
tomary for the President him¬ 
self to take the field in command 
of the army, or to stand upon the 
decks of a battleship directing a 
naval combat. Instead, he se¬ 
lects trained officers who, under 
his authority and final control, 
take active charge. As com¬ 
mander in chief, the President 
is entitled to a salute of twenty- 
one guns, and a special flag is 
flown in his honor. 

(2) Direction of the Executive 
Departments. The authority of the President to require 
reports from the “principal officer in each of the executive 
departments” is a necessary provision, since he is responsi¬ 
ble for their official acts. The President appoints them 
to office, and they are accountable to him. The Sen¬ 
ate, in practice and according to custom, always approves 
these appointments. . 

The number of these principal officers, and the depart¬ 
ments of which they have charge, are not mentioned in the 
Constitution. They have been created by Congress which 
fixes the number of departments, and tells what work each 
shall do. They have increased in number in this way from 
time to time in our history, as the business of the govern¬ 
ment has grown in size and importance. Without them the 
President could not possibly carry the burden of his posi¬ 
tion. Let us now see what they are and what they do. 










128 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


[Art. II 


The first Congress created anew in 1789 three of the 
executive departments which had existed under the old 
Congress of the Confederation. These were: a depart¬ 
ment of foreign affairs (“State Department”), a military 
and naval department (“War Department”), and a depart¬ 
ment of finance (“Treasury Department”). Each of these 
departments was headed by a “Secretary.” A law officer 
was also provided (“Attorney General”). A chief of the 
Post Office was created within the Treasury Department 

it • * 

(“Postmaster-General”). Besides the three original de¬ 
partments, the ones we have now were established by 
Congress in the following order: Navy (1798), Post Office 
(1829), Interior (1849), Justice (1870), Agriculture (1889), 
Commerce (1903),* and Labor (1913). The total number 
is ten. 


(A) The Department of State 

The principal business of the Department of State, acting 
for the President, is the management of the foreign affairs 
of the nation. The Secretary of State has immediate 
control over the body of officials that serves the federal 
government abroad (the “diplomatic corps” and the “con¬ 
sular service”). Through him, the representatives of 
foreign nations meet the President. Treaties are drawn 
up under his direction. 

Under the charge of the State Department are kept in 
the Library of Congress the original copies of the Consti¬ 
tution, the Declaration of Independence, and of all treaties 
and laws. The Secretary has charge of the “Great Seal of 
the United States,” which is set upon all documents of 
importance. His signature is placed upon all proclamations 
issued by the President. 


*First known as the Department of Commerce and Labor. 



Sec. 2] 


PRESIDENTIAL POWERS AND DUTIES 


129 



THE UNITED STATES TREASURY BUILDING 


The Department of State is regarded as the leading one 
in rank and dignity among the several executive depart¬ 
ments. The Secretary of State is the first officer in direct 
line of succession to the presidency, in case of vacancy 
caused by the Vice President’s being unable to serve as 
President. 


(B) The Treasury Department 

The Treasury Department is the financial arm of the 
Federal Government. The Secretary of the Treasury, 
acting for the President, has supervision over the collection 
of the government’s income from tariff duties, internal 
revenue taxes, income taxes, and other sources. These 
revenues now amount to several billion dollars per year. 
The Secretary is the guardian of the moneys poured into 
the treasury. He is also the officer who pays out money 
from the treasury, but only according to laws passed by 
Congress. (See page 111.) He is the bookkeeper of the 
Federal Government’s accounts. 












130 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


[Art, II 


The Secretary of the Treasury is in charge of the mints 
for the coinage of money, and of the Bureau of Engraving 
and Printing, which manufactures the paper currency of 
the United States. (See pages 91-93.) He has charge 
of the Bureau of Standards. (See page 93.) He ad¬ 
ministers the public health service, and superintends the 
construction of public buildings. In his department 
have been organized the Veterans’ Bureau* and the Bureau 
of the Budget.f 


(C) The War Department 

The War Department is in active control of the army, 
through the Secretary at the head, and under the direction 
of the President, as commander in chief. The War De¬ 
partment issues rules and regulations governing the mili¬ 
tary establishment. It provides for the national defense 
on land. Through the skill of one branch of the service— 
the Engineering Corps—the Panama Canal was built. 
In this department is located the Bureau of Insular Affairs, 
which attends to government business in Porto Rico and 
the Philippine Islands. 

i 

(D) The Navy Department 

The Navy Department takes care of all matters connected 
with the navy, and issues rules and regulations, through 
the Secretary and under the direction of the President, as 
commander in chief. The department not only takes care 
of the national defense on the water, but also carries on 
other very important work. 

The Navy Department conducts an Observatory at 

*The Veterans’ Bureau is for the benefit of our country’s ex soldiers and sailors. 

tThe Bureau of the Budget was established as a means of making the government's 
income and expenditures more nearly equal. 



Sec. 2] PRESIDENTIAL POWERS AND DUTIES 


131 


Washington in which the marvelous clocks and other 
instruments are able to measure time to the smallest frac¬ 
tion of a second. The Observatory sends this important 
information to ships in whatever waters they may be. 

Immense wireless stations are operated by the Navy 
Department. The great towers can send messages for 
thousands of miles, to give directions, or information, to 
the vessels of the United States. 

The “Hydrographic Office” of the Navy Department 
makes careful surveys of harbors and other waterways. 
It works with the “Coast and Geodetic Survey” in making 
charts of coastlines and ocean channels. These charts are 
of the utmost value to all engaged in navigation. 

% 

(E) The Post Office Department 

The service of the Post Office Department dates back to 
July, 1775, a year before the Declaration of Independence 
was signed. The Postmaster-General, acting for the 
President, superintends the collection and transportation of 
the mails, and handles the various other enterprises now 
associated with the post office. (Review this subject by 
reference to pages 94-96.) 

V 

(F) The Department of the Interior 

The Department of the Interior is made up of a great 
variety of bureaus. The Secretary, acting for the Presi¬ 
dent, directs their work. The most important among 
these bureaus are: the General Land Office, the Geological 
Survey, the Reclamation Service, the Bureau of Mines, the 
Office of Indian Affairs, the Bureau of Education, the 
Pension Bureau, and the Patent Office. (See pages 96-97.) 
These offices all perform service of far-reaching value to 


132 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


[Art. II 



ROOSEVELT IRRIGATION DAM—A RECLAMATION SERVICE PROJECT 


our people. You may look up more detailed information 
about them, in the references that follow this chapter. 

(G) The Department of Justice 

The Department of Justice, under direction of the Pres¬ 
ident, is headed by the Attorney-General, whose office was 
created at the start of the government. He is the principal 
law officer (“legal adviser”) of the President. 

(II) The Department of Agriculture 

The Department of Agriculture, under direction of the 
President, through its Secretary, has for its main object 
the promotion of the interests of our great farming popula¬ 
tion. It collects and publishes useful information related 
to the industry of agriculture—an industry upon which we 
all must depend for our supply of daily food. Among its 
offices are the Weather Bureau, and the Forestry Bureau. 

(I) The Department of Commerce 

The Department of Commerce, under direction of the 
President, through its Secretary, carries out the laws and 










Sec. 2] 


PRESIDENTIAL POWERS AND DUTIES 


133 


regulations having direct relation to the business interests 
of the country. Matters connected with manufactures 
fall particularly within the scope of its activity. One of 
its sub-divisions is the Census Bureau, permanently or¬ 
ganized to take the national count of population once in 
every period of ten years. At the time the census is taken, 
much other valuable information is collected, which is 
prepared for the aid of the people in their business affairs. 
/ 

(J) The Department of Labor 

The Department of Labor, under direction of the Presi¬ 
dent, through its Secretary, devotes itself to promoting the 
welfare of the nation’s workers in all lines of industry. 
It gathers and publishes useful facts having to do with 
wages, hours, and other conditions of labor. Under this 
department are included the Bureau of Immigration, and 
the Bureau of Naturalization. (See pages 86-88.) Under 
it also come the Children’s Bureau (formed to promote 
the “welfare of children and child life”), and the Women’s 
Bureau (which deals with the problems of women). 

(K) Other Executive Boards and Commissions 

Congress has created several important executive boards 
and commissions which are not directly connected with 
any department, but which are under the direction of the 
President. They perform valuable services for the people 
of our country. Among these important boards are: the 
Civil Service Commission, the Interstate Commerce Com¬ 
mission, the Railroad Labor Board, the Federal Reserve 
Board, the Federal Farm Loan Board, the Federal Trade 
Commission, the United States Shipping Board, and the 
United States Tariff Commission. 


134 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


[Art. II 


The President’s Cabinet 

As has already been stated, the Constitution made only 
slight mention of the executive departments, and did not 
organize the principal officers of these departments into 
a body of official advisers to the President, now known as 
the “Cabinet.” Yet the President, nowadays, has such a 
cabinet, composed of himself and the heads of the ten 
departments. The development in the past century of 
this “official family” of the President is so interesting and 
important that we shall now trace it in some detail. 

Presidents Washington and John Adams sometimes, but 
not as a general rule, invited their Secretaries and the 
Attorney-General to meet in a bod}^ with them for the 
purpose of talking over the needs of the nation. Presi¬ 
dent Jefferson was the first one who set up the practice of 
meeting regularly with his department heads as a body, 
and of taking a vote among them as to their views upon 
important questions. His successors have adopted his 
course of action. The result is that this group of depart¬ 
ment heads, the Cabinet, today occupies a position of great 
influence in the affairs of our government. 

The modern Cabinet is composed of the President and 
the chiefs of the ten executive departments. President 
Harding introduced a new member into the Cabinet when 
he requested the Vice President to join in its deliberations. 
The (then) Vice President Coolidge attended all the sessions. 

At the meetings the members group themselves about 
a table in the order in which their departments were 
established by law. The Secretary of State is seated to the 
President’s right, the Secretary of the Treasury to his left, 
and so on. Public questions of importance are discussed, 
reports are made, and policies are outlined—all for the 


Sec. 2] 


PRESIDENTIAL POWERS AND DUTIES 


135 



PRESIDENT HARDING AND HIS CABINET 

guidance of the President in caring wisely for our country’s 
needs. 

It must be said again that the Constitution does not 
expressly group the department heads into a body of ad¬ 
visers to the President. When thought of as a unit, or 
collective whole, the Cabinet is not recognized by law. 
It is founded upon custom, or usage. The President, alone, 
is the responsible executive of the Federal Government, 
and must bear the blame if matters go wrong. He is the 
master of the situation. He may, as he sees fit, follow, or 
disregard, the recommendations of the Cabinet. The final 
decision rests with him. It is told of President Lincoln 
that, on one occasion, he found his entire Cabinet ranged 
against him on a certain question. The seven department 
heads voted against the proposition. He voted for it. 
“The ayes have it,” declared the President. His one vote 









136 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


[Art. II 


outweighed the seven contrary votes combined. As a 
general rule, however, the official advisers of the President 
have considerable influence with him, and play a large part 
in the determination of his policies in both home and foreign 
affairs. 

(3) Reprieves and Pardons. A reprieve is a brief post- . 
ponement of punishment, and a pardon is a full release 
from punishment, to persons found guilty of offenses or 
crimes. The President's power of granting reprieves and 
pardons is intended to prevent injustice. 

Section 2. Clause 2. Additional Presidential Powers. He shall 

have power, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to make 
treaties, provided two thirds of the senators present concur; and he 
shall nominate, and, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, 
shall appoint ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, judges 
of the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the United States 
whose appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which 
shall be established by law; but the Congress may by law vest the 
appointment of such inferior officers, as they think proper, in the 
President alone, in the courts of law, or in the heads of departments. 

(1) Making of Treaties. A treaty is an agreement 
entered into by two or more nations. Some of the more 
common subjects covered in treaties are arrangements 
relating to commerce, determinations of boundaries, and 
settlements of peace following wars. 

One man, or a few men, can reach more easily the deci¬ 
sions to be written into treaties, than can large bodies of 
men. This fact is particularly true when the questions 
involved are of a very serious and complicated nature. For 
that reason, the President, rather than Congress, is given 
the right to make the plans for and arrange the details of 
treaties. He must, however, submit all proposed treaties 
to the Senate. Only when the Senate approves (“ratifies”) 
does the treaty become law. Ratification calls for a two- 


Sec. 2] 


PRESIDENTIAL POWERS AND DUTIES 


137 


thirds vote of the senators present, because of the im¬ 
portance of the subjects dealt with in treaties. 

The Senate may accept a treaty, and it then becomes 
law. Or the Senate may alter a treaty. If altered, all 
parties to the treaty must agree to the changes, before 
the treaty goes into effect. Or, the Senate may refuse to 
accept a treaty. 

When a treaty has been finally ratified by the proper 
authorities of the governments entering into it, it has the 
binding force of law. The official copies of the document 
are signed and delivered to each government. The Presi¬ 
dent then gives notice in a proclamation that the treaty 
has become a part of the law of the United States. 

(2) Nominations and Appointments. The power to 
name men for office (to “nominate”) is one of the most 
important of the President’s powers. It is a necessary 
part of the President’s chief responsibility—that of seeing 
to the enforcement of the laws. 

Certain officers are appointed by the President with the 
“advice and consent of the Senate.” A limitation is placed 
upon the President’s appointing power in Clause 2 in 
respect to “other officers,” who have been “otherwise pro¬ 
vided for.” These are the ones we have already men¬ 
tioned, whose elections are fixed in the Constitution itself. 
They are the President, Vice President, presidential and 
vice presidential electors, senators, representatives, and 
officials of the Senate and the House. 

It is necessary for the President, in making his nomina¬ 
tions, to spend a great deal of time in selecting the fittest 
persons for the various offices. Even so, the positions are 
so numerous that he cannot personally interview, or other¬ 
wise study the qualifications of the multitude of applicants. 

In this matter, as in many others, the President must 


138 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


[Art. II 


rely very largely upon the advice of those in whom he 
places trust. The heads of the executive departments 
have much to do with naming the persons who serve in the 
offices under their direction. The ’ Civil Service system 
(we shall learn more about it later) relieves the President 
of the burden of making many of the less important appoint¬ 
ments. It has, moreover, become the custom for the 
President to accept the recommendations of senators from 
States in which an appointment is to be made, when the 
senators belong to his own political party. Likewise, the 
representatives are consulted with reference to appoint¬ 
ments to positions in their districts. 

Generally speaking, the power of appointment carries 
with it the power of removal. In the administrations from 
Washington to Jackson, a period of forty years, only 
seventy-three removals were made. President Jackson 
made wholesale removals of office-holders belonging to the 
political party opposed to him. This plan was excused 
upon the ground that the members of the political party 
winning the election were entitled to the offices (“to the 
victors belong the spoils”). This political practice is 
known in our history as the “Spoils System.” It held 
sway for a half-century after Jackson’s time. Then, be¬ 
cause the Spoils System led to many abuses, it was finally 
reformed, to a large degree, through the establishment of 
a merit system of appointment to office (“civil service”). 
Civil Service provides for the selection of those applicants 
for office who pass competitive examinations. Gradually, 
the Civil Service has been extended to include half a million 
employees of the government. These employees serve for 
indefinite terms. They may be removed only because of 
unfitness or some other just reason, and only after they 
have been given a fair hearing. 


Sec. 3] 


PRESIDENTIAL POWERS AND DUTIES 


139 


Clause 3. Appointments When the Senate is Not in Session. The 

President shall have power to fill up all vacancies that may happen 
during the recess of the Senate, by granting commissions which shall 
expire at the end of their next session. 

Clause 3 authorizes the President to make temporary 
appointments during the period when the Senate is not in 
session. These assignments are known as ad interim (for 
the interval) appointments. 

Section 3. Presidential Duties. He shall from time to time give 
to the Congress information of the state of the Union, and recommend 
to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and 
expedient; he may, on extraordinary occasions, convene both houses, 
or either of them, and, in cases of disagreement between them with 
respect to the time of adjournment, he may adjourn them to such 
time as he shall think proper; he shall receive ambassadors and other 
public ministers; he shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed, 
and shall commission all the officers of the United States. 

(1) Messages to Congress. According to the provision in 
Section 3, the President prepares a message to be laid 
before Congress at the opening of its session in December 
of each year. This message gives information concerning 
the condition of the country. It is accompanied by the 
annual reports of the heads of the executive departments, 
furnishing detailed statements of the handling of the public 
business. The President’s message also presents his views 
upon leading public questions. It contains his recom¬ 
mendations as to the passage of laws. 

Many of these annual messages have great historic 
interest and value. Perhaps the most famous one among 
them was the message of President Monroe, in 1823. In 
this message he announced boldly that the American con¬ 
tinents were no longer open to European conquest, or 
colonization. This was the beginning of the famous “Mon¬ 
roe Doctrine." 


140 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


[Art. II 



PRESIDENT WILSON DELIVERING HIS FAMOUS WAR MESSAGE 


Presidents Washington and John Adams delivered their 
annual messages in person, with much ceremony, before 
Congress. President Jefferson, however, changed this 
arrangement by sending written messages to Congress, to 
be read by a clerk, or secretary. He did not himself attend 
the sessions. For more than a hundred years after his 
time, Jefferson’s example was followed by other Presidents. 
President Woodrow Wilson broke the custom. When the 
date arrived for Congress to assemble at the opening of 
his first term, President Wilson appeared before the two 
houses, and read his message to them. He did this on 
many other occasions—notably when he presented his 
famous “War Message” (April 2, 1917). President Harding 
adopted the same plan. 

The President addresses special messages, also, to 
Congress. In these he brings to the attention of the 















Sec. 3] 


PRESIDENTIAL POWERS AND DUTIES 


141 


law-makers some problem calling for immediate action. 
Often, he presents a definite suggestion as to the kind of 
action to be taken. 

While the President is called our chief executive (law- 
enforcing) officer, yet his influence upon law-making is 
very great. By means of the messages, the President 
brings to the attention of Congress and of the nation, 
conditions which make some sort of law necessary. His 
views regarding public needs are spread, not among the 
members of Congress alone, but among the people through¬ 
out the land. His words are printed on the front pages of 
newspapers, and are read in millions of homes. 

In recent years Presidents have carried their messages 
directly to the people by undertaking extensive speaking 
tours. These visits have even taken them into distant 
sections of the country, and have tended to bring the people 
into first-hand contact with the Federal Government. 

In all these ways, backed by an intelligent public opinion, 
the President is frequently able to get laws passed which 
he considers to be necessary for the welfare of the people 
of the United States. 

(2) Calling Special Sessions. The President may call 
the two houses of Congress into session “on extraordinary 
occasions.” In this way, if Congress has failed to pass 
necessary legislation, such as appropriation bills, the Presi¬ 
dent may almost compel action. This authority has been 
used by Presidents as early as John Adams, and as late 
as Warren G. Harding. 

(3) Receiving Ambassadors, and Other Public Ministers. 
We have already noted the President’s authority in the 
appointment of ambassadors, and other public ministers, 
to represent the United States in foreign countries. (See 
page 136.) Foreign governments, also, send their repre- 


142 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


[Art. li 


sentatives in the same way to this country. In Section 3, 
the President is named as the proper officer to “receive” 
those representatives of foreign governments who rank 
highest in the diplomatic service. The act of receiving 
the representatives of a foreign government is equal to an 
acknowledgment (“recognition”) of the independence of 
that nation, as well as of the friendship of the United States 
toward it. 

The President may ask foreign governments to call home, 
or may himself dismiss, diplomatic representatives who 
are offensive to the United States government. President 
Washington, for example, secured the recall of Citizen 
Genet, the Minister from France, in 1793. President Wilson 
had Count Dumba, the Ambassador from Austria, recalled, 
and himself dismissed two German diplomatic officers in 
1915. 

(4) The Enforcing of the Laws. Under Section 3, the 
President is assigned his main duty, which is “to take care 
that the laws be faithfully executed.” For this reason, 
primarily, the office of President was created. For this 
reason, the President is given such large powers in respect 
to the command of the army and navy, to the appointment 
of officers, to the conduct of foreign affairs, and to the general 
direction of the spending of the vast sums appropriated by 
Congress at each session. The President is responsible for 
seeing that the officers whom he appoints shall perform 
their duties faithfully and well. 

The laws are generally enforced by the courts through 
officers chosen for the purpose, such as United States 
marshals, and their deputies. In times of very great 
need the President may order the army and navy to put 
down resistance to the law. (See page 126.) Not only 
may he call upon these troops and vessels, but also upon 


Sec. 4] 


PRESIDENTIAL POWERS AND DUTIES 


143 


the militia, to suppress uprisings of large bodies of armed 
men in defiance of the law (“insurrections”). The necessity 
to suppress insurrections has been of rare occurrence in our 
history.* 

(5) Commissioning of Officers. The authority to com¬ 
mission the officers of the government is a natural result 
of the President’s duty to enforce the laws. It means 
that the President signs written documents naming certain 
persons to perform particular services for the government. 

Section 4. Impeachment of the President and Civil Officers. The 

President, Vice President, and all civil officers of the United States 
shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, 
treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors. 

The impeachment process has already been sufficiently 
described. (See pages 60-61 and 66-67.) “Civil officers” 
are all government officers other than those in the military 
forces of the nation. The meaning of “treason” is given 
later in this text. 

General Conclusions as to the Presidential 

Office 

As we have found, the people at the time the Constitu¬ 
tion was drawn up, dreaded the possibility of one-man rule. 
If the framers of the Constitution could come back to life 
today, they would be astonished beyond measure, no 
doubt, to observe how large and extensive the influence of 
the President actually is. For the President now holds 
the reins of government. He is the chosen representative 
of the most powerful people in the world. 

♦When our government was just getting on its feet. President Washington was 
required to send fifteen thousand regular soldiers and militia into western Pennsylvania, 
where armed resistance had broken out to the collection of internal revenue duties (the 
“Whisky Insurrection”). The resistance wds quickly overcome. Hamilton went with 
the expedition, as he felt that this test of strength would determine whether or not the 
new government would last. 



144 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


[Art. II 


Moreover, the President stands out as the supreme figure 
in the eyes of people of foreign lands. His name is known 
in every country on earth. No kings or emperors have as 
much real power as he has. He is the foremost ruler in the 
world. 

And yet, while the office of President has grown so much 
stronger than was thought possible in the beginning, we do 
not fear that the President will become a tyrant. He is, 
after all, one of the people. “The President comes from the 
people and must return to the people.” He, too, obeys the 
laws. He is not above the laws. Such is the spirit of our 
democratic institutions. 

Any boy or girl born of American parents on American 
soil may entertain the ambition to become President. Our 
Presidents have often begun life as poor boys in humble 
homes and surroundings. Abraham Lincoln was born in a 
log cabin and “split rails” in his youth. James A. Garfield 
earned his way in his early years by towing boats on the 
Erie Canal. Warren G. Harding started his career by setting 
type in a country printing shop. With a strong body, 
good character, and a proper education, several American 
boys or girls in each generation may reach their ambition 
to hold the office of President—the greatest political dis¬ 
tinction that can come to any human being. 

Questions and Problems 

1. Can you point out what some of the abuses of the “Spoils 

System’’ were? What is the value of the Civil Service? 

2. How does the Weather Bureau aid different kinds of workers? 

Give examples from your local community. 

3. How does the Forestry Bureau aid the people? Give examples. 

Suggested Activities 

1. If you have a relative who has been or is an officer in the United 


PRESIDENTIAL POWERS AND DUTIES 145 

States military forces, ask him to let you see his “commis¬ 
sion.” If possible, bring it and read it to the class. 

2. Find a copy of the President’s last Thanksgiving Day proclama¬ 

tion. Bring it to class. Note the signature of the Secretary 
of State. 

3. Try to get a copy of a War Risk Insurance policy. Read it 

and bring it to class if possible. 

4. Ask your father or mother to explain what is meant by a 

“budget.” 

5. Visit a Weather Bureau, if there is one near you. Make a 

report of your observations to the class. (If you are unable 
to pay this visit, write to the nearest Weather Bureau to 
secure information concerning its work.) 

6. Interview a farmer or a shipping man to find what he gains 

from the Weather Bureau. Report the results to the class. 

7. Secure copies of Weather Bureau maps and forecasts, and post 

them in the classroom. Keep tally from day to day with 
actual weather conditions. Check the record at the end of 
the month. 

8. Visit a station of the Forestry Service, if possible, and inquire 

concerning its work. (If not possible to visit, write to the 
nearest station and make inquiries. Ask for bulletins of the 
Forestry Service.) Report to the class. 

9. Go to your school or public library and examine the report of 

the 1920 census. 

10. Look up material on the Children’s Bureau—the scope of its 

work, and the results—and report to the class. Secure 
figures on the number of American children who work for 
wage. 

11. Similarly, look up material on the Women’s Bureau. 

12. Secure from your postmaster copies of the rules governing 

Civil Service examinations. Secure also notices of such 
examinations, and all other obtainable information upon this 
subject. Interview a Civil Service employee in the federal 
service (such as a postal carrier, for example). Find from 
him what improvements might be made in the present Civil 
Service law. Report to the class. 

13. Bring to class and read a newspaper account of a recent Cabinet 

meeting. 

14. Make a list of several important treaties entered into by the 

United States government, and report briefly on them to the 
class. 

15. Look up material on each of these “other important boards” 

and make a brief statement to the class regarding them. 


146 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


[Art. II 


16. Make a summary outline of the executive department—The 
President: 1. Election; 2. Term; 3. Qualifications; 4. Suc¬ 
cession in case of vacancy; 5. Salary; 6. Oath of office; 7. 
Powers; 8. Duties. 

Taking each executive department of the Cabinet as a sep¬ 
arate division of your outline, list under each one its various 
duties. 


Topic References 

General 

Howe: New Era Civics, Chapter VII. 

Lessons in Community and National Life: A-12: “History of the 
Federal Departments 

U. S. Bureau of Education, Bulletin, 1919, No. 74: “The Federal 
Executive Departments.” 

Department of State 

Haskin: The American Government, Chapter II. 

Treasury Department 

Haskin: The American Government: pages 27-39 (The Treasury); 
pages 170-182 (Bureau of Standards); pages 183-195 (the Public 
Health). 

War Department 

Haskin: The American Government , pages 209-220 (the Panama 
Canal); pages 234-247 (the Bureau of Insular Affairs). 

Navy Department 

Haskin: The American Government , Chapter V. 

Marriott: Uncle Sam’s Business, pages 65-83, and 194-198. 

World’s Work, Vol. XXXIII, pages 2^6-275. 

Department of the Interior 

Haskin: The American Government, pages 78-90 (the Department 
of the Interior); pages 103-115 (the Geological Survey). 

Lessons in Community and National Life: B-13: “The Department 
of the Interior.” 

Marshall and Lyon: Our Economic Organization, pages 419-435 
(Bureau of Mines, etc.). 

Department of Justice 

Haskin: The American Government, pages 349-362. 


PRESIDENTIAL POWERS AND DUTIES 


147 


Department of Agriculture 

Chamberlain and Chamberlain: Thrift and Conservation, pages 
133-142. 

Haskin: The American Government, pages 117-129; pages 130-142. 
Marshall and Lyon: Our Economic Organization, pages 435-440. 
Marriott: Uncle Sam’s Business, pages 229-236. 

Department of Commerce 

Haskin: The American Government, pages 157-169 (The Census 
Bureau). 

Department of Labor 

Lessons in Community and National Life: C-29: “Child Labor”; 
B-2S: “Women in Industry”; A-5: “The Human Resources of a Com¬ 
munity.” 

Other Boards and Commissions 

Haskin: The American Government, pages 221-234 (Interstate 
Commerce Commission); pages 312-324 (Civil Service Commission). 

Treaties 

Foster: A Century of American Diplomacy. 

Harrison: This Country of Ours, pages 134-141. 



THE GREAT SEAL 



CHAPTER XIII 

ARTICLE III: THE JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT 


Let reverence for the law ... be taught in schools, 
seminaries, and colleges; let it be written in primers, 
spelling books, and almanacs; let it be preached from 
pulpits, and proclaimed in legislative halls, and en¬ 
forced in courts of justice; let it become the political 
religion of the nation .—Abraham Lincoln. 

Section 1. The United States Courts; Terms of Judges; Salaries. 

The judicial power of the United States shall be vested in one Supreme 
Court, and in such inferior courts as the Congress may from time to 
time ordain and establish. The judges, both of the Supreme and 
inferior courts, shall hold their offices during good behavior, and shall, 
at stated times, receive for their services a compensation which shall 
not be diminished during their continuance in office. 

Under the Articles of Confederation, Congress itself 
had been the final board of judges to decide disputes among 
the States. But in this way, also, as in various others 
already discussed, the government of those days was very 
weak; no one was obliged to accept or carry out the decisions 
that Congress made. This serious situation led Alexander 
Hamilton to say, “Laws are a dead letter without courts 
to expound [explain] and define their true meaning and 
operation. ” 

The remedy was sought by providing in Article III for 
the third great branch of our governmental system—the 
judicial department. (See page 19.) 

148 


Sec. 1] 


THE JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT 


149 


This department consists, first, of “one Supreme Court,” 
created directly by the Constitution, just as Congress and 
the President were created by it. It consists, second, of 
federal courts of lower rank, because the work would be 
too heavy for one Supreme Court to do. Congress de¬ 
termines how many of these courts there shall be, how 
many judges to each, and what kinds of cases shall be 
heard by them. 

Congress was given power to decide the number of judges 
of the Supreme Court. In 1789, the first Congress set 
this number at one Chief Justice and five Associate Justices. 
From time to time, Congress has established “inferior 
courts,” known as “Circuit Courts of Appeal” and “District 
Courts.” The Supreme Court is the highest court; the 
Circuit Courts of Appeal next highest; the District Courts 
lowest. 

The growth of the country has caused an increase in the 
number of judges of the Supreme Court and in the number 
of inferior courts. The Supreme Court now (1923) has a 
Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices. There are nine 
Circuit Courts of Appeal, and one, or more, District Courts 
in each State, as well as one each in Alaska, Hawaii, and 
Porto Rico. The Supreme Court holds a regular term 
once a year in Washington. The Circuit Courts of Appeal 
and District Courts hold terms at certain times and places 
fixed by law. United States district attorneys, marshals, 
and other officers carry out the orders of the federal courts. 
Congress has also created a few special courts, particularly 
the Court of Claims and the Court of Customs Appeals, 
whose work we shall not discuss in this book. 

The declaration in Section 1 that the United States 
judges “shall hold their offices during good behavior” is 
very important. Remember that representatives are elected 


150 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


[Art. Ill 



THE SUPREME COURT JUDGES IN ROBES OF OFFICE (1923) 

Left to right—rear: Justices Butler, Brandeis, Sutherland, Sanford. 

Front: Van Devanter, McKenna, Chief Justice Taft, Holmes, McReynolds. 

by the people for two-year terms; the President for a four- 
year term; and the senators for six-year terms. But the 
judges are not elected by the people at all, and stay in 
office for life. 

Why is this great advantage allowed them? The reason 
is not far to seek. The founders of the government wanted 
the United States judges to be as fair-minded and free as 
possible in explaining the Constitution, the treaties, and 
the laws. Hence, they gave the judges life positions, to 
insure their freedom of mind in making decisions. “Is it 
not to the last degree important,” said the great Chief 
Justice John Marshall, “that he (the judge) should be 
rendered perfectly and completely independent, with nothing 
to influence and control him but God and his conscience?’’ 








Sec. 2] 


THE JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT 


151 


For the same reason, the makers of the Constitution 
provided that the pay of the judges should not be cut 
down during their time in office. The Chief Justice re¬ 
ceives a salary of $15,000 per year; the Associate Justices, 
$14,500 each. Circuit judges are paid $8500 per year; 
District judges $7500. Upon reaching the age of seventy 
years, any United States judge may retire on full salary 
for life, if he has served for a period of ten years. 

In cases of dispute the courts explain and decide the 
meaning of the Constitution and the laws. If a majority 
of the people do not approve those decisions, they can have 
the laws changed, or they can amend the Constitution. 
In a democracy the people’s will is law. Many times the 
laws are changed by Congress to meet the opinions given 
by the courts. On at least two occasions, amendments 
to the Constitution have resulted from Supreme Court 
decisions. These were the XHIth and the XVIth Amend¬ 
ments. (See pages 181, 183.) 

Section 2. Clause 1. Cases in Which the United States Courts 

Have Authority. The judicial power shall extend to all cases, in law 
and equity, arising under this Constitution, the laws of the United 
States, and treaties made, or which shall be made, under their author¬ 
ity ; to all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers, and con¬ 
suls; to all cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction; to con¬ 
troversies to which the United States shall be a party; to controversies 
between two or more States; between a State and citizens of another 
State; between citizens of different States; between citizens of the 
same State claiming lands under grants of different States, and be¬ 
tween a State, or the citizens thereof, and foreign states, citizens, or 
subjects. 

The extent of the powers of the United States courts 
(known as their “jurisdiction”) is given in Section 2. 
While this jurisdiction is very wide, we should bear in 
mind constantly that these federal courts deal only with 


152 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


[Art. Ill 


matters that affect the country as a whole. The State 
courts handle other matters. Clause 1 outlines the classes 
of cases which fall under the jurisdiction of the federal 
courts.* 

Clause 2. Cases Begun in the Supreme Court and Cases Appealed 

to It. In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and 
consuls, and those in which a State shall be party, the Supreme Court 
shall have original jurisdiction. In all the other cases before men¬ 
tioned, the Supreme Court shall have appellate jurisdiction, both as to 
law and fact, with such exceptions and under such regulations as the 
Congress shall make. 

Of these classes of suits, certain ones are begun and tried 
in the Supreme Court without first going through the 
lower courts. This is called “original jurisdiction”—that 
is, this particular kind of a case must be begun in the Supreme 
Court; it does not come up through the lower courts first. 
The decision of the Supreme Court in these cases is final. 
Other cases are brought first in one of the inferior United 
States courts, or in a State court, but its decision may 
not be final. The persons who brought the suit to that 
court, if not satisfied with the decision, may then have 
the right to ask that the suit be tried over again, 
in whole or in part, before a higher court. This is the 
process known as “appeal.” The court to which the 
case then goes is said to have “appellate jurisdiction.” 

Clause 3. Trial by Jury in Criminal Cases. The trial of all crimes, 
except in cases of impeachment, shall be by jury; and such trial shall 
be held in the State where the said crimes shall have been committed; 
but when not committed within any State, the trial shall be at such 
place or places as the Congress may by law have directed. 

The jury system runs far back into the history of English- 

*Clause 1 was added to by Amendment XI in 1798. (See page 180.) The United 
States courts, by that amendment, cannot deal with cases ("suits”) brought by citi¬ 
zens of one State, or of foreign countries, against a State. 



Sec. 2] 


THE JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT 


153 


speaking peoples. Jury trial has been considered for cen¬ 
turies to be the chief safeguard of personal liberty, and thus 
has been cherished and upheld at all costs. The colonists 
complained bitterly that, in certain particulars, the British 
government had denied them the right of jury trial as it 
should be conducted. (See the Declaration of Inde¬ 
pendence.) 

The jury system protects every man and woman against 
loss of life or liberty unless a body of fellow citizens, chosen 
for the purpose, after listening to the facts both for and 
against the accused person, decides that he or she has been 
guilty of breaking the law. 

There are two kinds of juries—the large or “grand jury,” 
and the small or “petit jury” (pronounced “petty”). The 
grand jury is a body of from twelve to twenty-three men 
chosen to inquire into the facts when a person has been 
accused of an offense against the laws. After hearing the 
evidence, the grand jury decides that the charge is true, 
or not true. If true, the jury votes an “indictment,” 
which causes the accused person to be brought to trial 
before a court and a petit jury. 

The petit jury, or “trial jury,” consists of a body of 
twelve persons chosen to hear the evidence and to decide the 
facts (“render a verdict”) in a case in which a person has 
been indicted for crime (“criminal trial”), or in a case 
in which property or other similar interests are at stake 
(“civil suit”). The judge of the court presides over the 
trial, or suit. All twelve jurymen must agree in criminal 
cases before a decision can be reached. If the jury disagrees 
a new trial may be had. 

The object, in Clause 3, in requiring criminal trials to be 
held in the State in which the crime has been committed 
is to save expense and difficulties of various kinds. The 


154 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


[Art. Ill 



A COURT IN SESSION DURING A JURY TRIAL 

founders of the government had fresh in mind the ex¬ 
perience that the British government had forced the col¬ 
onists to stand trial in England, rather than in the colonies. 

The provisions of Clause 3 were attacked by opponents of 
the Constitution when it was presented for approval to 
the people. They feared that the dearly won right of 
jury trial was not made safe enough by this clause. To 
assure the people that this great right should never be 
denied them, the First Congress proposed amendments, 
which were accepted by the States in 1791. (Read 
Amendments V, VI, VII, and VIII, page 176.) These 
amendments made secure the right of jury trial. 

Section 3. Clause 1. Treason and Its Punishment. Treason 
against the United States shall consist only in levying war against them, 
or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort. No per¬ 
son shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two wit¬ 
nesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court. 






Sec. 3] 


THE JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT 


LBe) 


Clause 2. The Congress shall have power to declare the punish¬ 
ment of treason; but no attainder of treason shall work corruption of 
blood, or forfeiture, except during the life of the person attainted. 

Treason is a crime that aims at the destruction of the gov¬ 
ernment itself. A traitor is more than an enemy against one 
of his fellow men: he is an enemy against all his fellow coun¬ 
trymen. Therefore, the person guilty of treason, the traitor, 
is considered to be the most dangerous of all criminals.* 

The second part of the clause provides that the family 
and descendants of a traitor shall not be made to suffer for 
his evil deeds. 

Our Supreme Court 

From 1789 to the present date there have been nine Chief 
Justices of the Supreme Court. They have been men of 
remarkable ability and force of character. The first Chief 
Justice, John Jay, was appointed b}^ President Washington. 
He had rendered distinguished services to his country dur¬ 
ing the Revolution and the period immediately following. 
The Court came into its full strength, however, under the 
leadership of the great Chief Justice, John Marshall. He 
served throughout the early stage of the nation’s life, for 
a period of thirty-four years (1801-1835). In a series of 
famous decisions, this great man, more than any other 
one person in our history, gave to the Constitution the 
meaning that it still possesses. These decisions were a 
powerful force in strengthening the central government. 
They upheld the power and dignity of the federal courts. 
They kept the States within the bounds laid down in the 
Constitution. So far-reaching was the work of Chief 
Justice Marshall that he has been justly called “a second 
maker of the Constitution.” 


*The most famous trial for treason in our history was that of Aaron Burr. It failed 
for lack of witnesses. JNo person has ever been put to death for treason in our history. 



156 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


[Art. Ill 



The Supreme Court holds its regular term in a large 
hall in the Capitol at Washington from October of one }^ear 
to June of the next. Each day an official announces the 
opening of court by shouting “Oyez! Oyez!” (Hear ye! 
Hear ye!) The nine Justices, robed in black silk gowns, 
walk into the chamber and take their seats. They are 
then ready to listen to the points of law in the cases set 
for the day’s hearing. The present Chief Justice is ex- 
President William Howard Taft. The authority of the 
Supreme Court has grown until today no court of any other 
nation can equal it in importance. 


Questions and Problems 

1. Is it better to have judges elected by the people or appointed for 

life by the President? Give reasons for your answers. 

2. Have you ever heard of the “judicial recall”? Ask your father 

about it and try to find reasons for and against it. 


THE SUPREME COURT CHAMBER 






THE JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT 


157 


3. Tell of the work of John Marshall. 

4. Name our present Supreme Court judges. 

5. What are acts of treason? Why is treason considered the most 

disgraceful kind of crime? 

Suggested Activities 

1. Proposition for debate: Resolved, that trial by jury be abolished. 

2. Form a United States court among members of the class. 

Appoint a judge, an attorney, and a marshal. Select a petit 
jury. Try a civil case before judge and jury. (The teacher 
should see that the case is one that falls within the jurisdiction 
of a United States court.) Have the jury render a verdict. 

3. Ask your father to tell you about any experiences he may have 

had serving on a jury. Get his opinions and report to the class. 

4. Make a summary outline of the judicial department, using these 

main heads: A. The Supreme Court—1. Number of judges 
fixed by Congress; 2. Method of selection; 3. Term of office; 
4. Jurisdiction. B. Inferior courts—1. Kinds; 2. Number 
of judges; 3. Jurisdiction. 

Topic References 

Adams: A Community Civics , Chapter XVII. 

Haskin: The American Government, Chapters XXVI and XXVII. 
Howe: New Era Civics, Chapter VI. 

McPheters, Cleveland, and Jones: Citizenship Dramatized, pages 

17-41 (a jury trial). 


Law is nothing but a correct principle commanding 
what is honest and forbidding the contrary.— Cicero. 



158 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


SUMMARY 

THE 

DEPARTMENTS OF GOVERNMENT 

We have now completed our study of the three great 
departments into which our government is divided: the 
legislative, or law-making, department, centered in Con¬ 
gress; the executive, or law-enforcing, department, cen¬ 
tered in the President; the judicial, or law-interpreting, 
department, centered in the Supreme Court. We must 
have laws to guide us in our conduct and to supply our 
needs; we must have a national leader to see that our laws 
are carried out and that the needs of the people are met; 
and we must have some means of deciding the meanings of 
these laws when men hold different opinions regarding them. 

Let us recall that our nation’s founders kept these three 
powers separate because they felt that it would be dan¬ 
gerous to put such a tremendous amount of power into 
the hands of any one man or body of men. So they divided 
the powers, making each department a check on the other 
—thus securing to our people a well-balanced, carefully 
guarded, wise national government. 


OUR FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 


159 
























































































































CHAPTER XIV 

ARTICLE IV: THE STATES AND THE UNION 


The Constitution in all its provisions looks to an 
indestructible Union composed of indestructible States. 

—Supreme Court Decision. 

Section 1. Acts and Records of One State to Be Respected by the 
Others. Full faith and credit shall be given in each State to the public 
acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other State. And the 
Congress may by general laws prescribe the manner in which such 
acts, records, and proceedings shall be proved, and the effect thereof. 

In Article IV, the Constitution recognizes the State 
governments and outlines their relations to each other 
and to the Federal Government. 

Section 1 is intended to insure harmony and good-will 
among the citizens of the several States. The words of 
the section mean that an act, paper, judgment of a court, 
etc., that is lawful in one State is to be accepted as lawful 
by the other States, even though the laws of these States 
may vary from those of the one State. 

Section 2. Clause 1. Rights of Citizens the Same in All States. 

The citizens of each State shall be entitled to all privileges and immuni¬ 
ties of citizens in the several States. 

Although our country is made up of forty-eight different 
States, each with its own law-making body, governor, 
and courts, by Clause 1 we may go into any State and 
enjoy the privileges and rights of the citizens of that State. 
In colonial days and even for a short time after our country 

160 


Sec. 3] 


THE STATES AND THE UNION 


161 


was founded, a citizen of one colony or State might meet 
with many difficulties when he went to another State to 
visit, or for business purposes. 

Clause 2. The Return of Fleeing Criminals. A person charged in 
any State with treason, felony, or other crime, who shall flee from jus¬ 
tice, and be found in another State, shall, on demand of the executive 
authority of the State from which he fled, be delivered up, to be re¬ 
moved to the State having jurisdiction of the crime. 

Clause 3. No person held to service or labor in one State, under 
the laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any 
law or regulation therein, be discharged from such service or labor, 
but shall be delivered up on claim of the party to whom such service or 
labor may be due. 

Clause 2 provides a method (“extradition”) for the re¬ 
turn of criminals fleeing from one State to another to avoid 
arrest. Clause 3 referred to negro slaves. It has no 
longer any meaning for us. 

Section 3. Clause 1. Admission of New States. New States 
may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; but no new State 
shall be formed or erected within the jurisdiction of any other State; 
nor any State be formed by the junction of two or more States, or parts 
of States, without the consent of the legislatures of the States con¬ 
cerned as well as of the Congress. 

The ownership of the lands lying to the west of the Alle¬ 
gheny Mountains had been a cause of much discord among 
the thirteen original States. Finally, in 1780, the States 
laying claim to these lands agreed to give up their interest 
in them to the Union. The Congress of the Confederation, 
on its part, agreed to hold these lands for the common 
benefit and to open them to settlement. These gifts were 
made by the States between 1781 and 1802, and formed 
the “public domain.” 

It had been further agreed that Congress would set up 
temporary (“territorial”) governments for the settlers in 


162 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


[Art. IV 


these regions, and receive them into the Union as soon as 
their population was large enough. Moreover, at the 
time the Constitution was drawn up, there were other large 
areas ready for transformation into States. Among them 
were Vermont, Kentucky, and Tennessee. 

These conditions were well known to the men who sat 
in the Constitutional Convention, and they prepared for 
the coming of these new States in Section 3. In Clause 1 
they granted the power to Congress, within certain limits, 
of admitting new States into the Union. 

Clause 2. The Government of Territories. The Congress shall 
have power to dispose of and make all needful rules and regulations 
respecting the territory or other property belonging to the United 
States; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed as to 
prejudice any claims of the United States, or of any particular State. 

Clause 2, together with Clause 1, gives Congress com¬ 
plete control over the possessions of the United States, 
whether they are territories approaching statehood, or 
otherwise. 

By its power given in Section 3, Congress has admitted 
.thirty-five new States since the organization of the govern¬ 
ment in 1789.* The first State to be admitted was Vermont 
in 1791, closely followed by Kentucky in 1792. The two 
last to be admitted were New Mexico and Arizona in 1912. 
These new States have usually been required to pass through 
the preliminary stage of existence as territories before they 
were admitted as States. An organized territory is a 
State in the making. The territory sends a delegate to 
Congress who is allowed the privilege of speaking, though 
not of voting. The people of a territory have no part in 
electing a President. At the present time (1923) Alaska 
and Hawaii are the only organized territories remaining. 

♦North Carolina and Rhode Island ratified the Constitution soon after the new 
government was in operation. 



Sec. 3] 


THE STATES AND THE UNION 


163 



THE TERRITORIAL CAPITOL—HAWAIIAN ISLANDS 

The permission of Congress must be secured by a terri¬ 
tory before it may join the family of States. When the 
area of a territory is large enough, and when it has grown 
to sufficient size in population for admission to statehood,* 
Congress ordinarily passes a law known as an “Enabling 
Act.” The Enabling Act grants permission to the people 
of the territory to apply to Congress for admission, and 
gives them authority to draw up a constitution for the 
State-to-be. 

This constitution is then voted upon by the people of 
the territory. If acceptable to them, it is submitted to 
Congress. Congress may insist on changes, and delay 
admission until the constitution is satisfactory to it. When 

*Neither the size of area nor of population has ever been definitely fixed. 












164 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


[Art. IV 


Congress approves the constitution, the President issues 
a proclamation announcing that a new State has been 
received into the union. 

Clause 2 also gives Congress the sole authority to deal 
with “‘other property belonging to the United States.” 
This phrase applies alike to small areas of land and other 
belongings used for governmental purposes (as sites of 
buildings, fortifications, prisons, etc.) and to large regions 
over which the government of the United States has control; 
for example, the millions of acres of unoccupied (“public”) 
lands which have come into the hands of the Federal Gov¬ 
ernment as the country has expanded. 

Under Clause 2 also is included the control exercised by 
Congress over the District of Columbia (see pages 101-103), 
the Panama Canal Zone, and the “insular,” or island, 
possessions of the United States. The insular pos¬ 
sessions include at the present time Porto Rico, Guam, 
the Philippine Islands, the Virgin Islands, and other minor 
islands. These possessions are governed through Acts of 
Congress. Civil governments (non-military) have been 
established in Porto Rico and in the Philippines under 
governors appointed by the President. The inhabitants 
have been allowed a large measure of self-government. 
They send commissioners to represent them in Congress, 
with the privilege of speaking, but not of voting. The 
smaller islands are controlled by the Navy Department. 

Section 4. Guarantees to the States. The United States shall 
guarantee to every State in this Union a republican form of government, 
and shall protect each of them against invasion, and on application of 
the legislature or of the executive (when the legislature cannot be 
convened) against domestic violence. 

As indicated in our study of the method of admission 
of States, Congress establishes certain requirements which 


Sec. 4] 


THE STATES AND THE UNION 


165 


must be met before it will accept the new State’s consti¬ 
tution. The most important of these requirements is the 
guarantee in Section 4 that the government of the State 
must be “republican” in form. The provision is a natural 
one, because the United States government itself is republi¬ 
can in form. (See pages 18, 20.) It would not do to have 
a State of another type of government than that of a re¬ 
public, existing within the Union. 

The provision in Section 4 that the government of the 
United States shall protect each State “against invasion” 
is made necessary because the Constitution forbids the 
States to maintain a standing army and a navy in time of 
peace. (See page 113.) So, if one of our border States 
is attacked by a foreign enemy, the United States govern¬ 
ment, under this clause of the Constitution, must protect it. 

Questions and Problems 

1. When was your State admitted to the Union? What was it 

before it became a State? 

2. Is there any “public property” near you under control of the 

Federal Government? 

3. What clauses in this chapter show that although we are forty- 

eight States, we are yet one unified nation?- 

4. What is the difference between a territory and a possession? 

Suggested Activities 

1. Proposition for debate—Resolved, that the Philippine Islands 

be given their independence. 

2. Look up material telling about the admission of your State into 

the Union. 

3. Write a theme on (a) The Beauties of Hawaii, (6) The Future 

of Alaska. 

4. Look up information on how we secured our territories and 

possessions. 

Topic References 

Howe: New Era Civics , Chapter XII. 

Hughes: Community Civics, pages 217-222, 233-236, 239-240, 493. 

Wade and Russell: The Short Constitution , page 161. 


CHAPTER XV 


ARTICLES V, VI, AND VII: METHOD OF 
AMENDMENT; SUPREMACY OF THE 
CONSTITUTION; RATIFICATION 


Our Country . . . and by the blessing of God may 
that country itself become a vast and splendid monu¬ 
ment not of oppression and terror, but of wisdom, of 
peace, and of liberty, upon which the world may gaze 
with admiration forever .—Daniel Webster. 


Article V: Method of Amendment 

The Congress, whenever two thirds of both houses shall deem it 
necessary, shall propose amendments to this Constitution, or, on the 
application of the legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall 
call a convention for proposing amendments, which, in either case, shall 
be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of this Constitution, when 
ratified by the legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or by 
conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode of 
ratification may be proposed by the Congress; provided that no amend¬ 
ment which may be made prior to the year one thousand eight hundred 
and eight shall in any manner affect the first and fourth clauses in the 
ninth section of the first article; and that no State, without its consent, 
shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate. 

“It is not too much to say that the amending clause is 
the most important clause in a written constitution.” This 
is true because the amending clause indicates who has the 
light to change the Constitution, that body of rules and 
regulations which is the rock foundation of the govern- 

166 


Art. V] 


METHOD OF AMENDMENT 


167 


ment. And such change would greatly affect the lives of 
the people under that government. The amending clause 
of our Constitution again shows us that in the United 
States of America the people are supreme. No Congress, 
or Supreme Court, or President can change our Consti¬ 
tution. The people themselves, through their directly 
elected representatives, are the only ones who can say 
that their form of government shall be changed. 

We have already noted that it was nearly impossible 
to amend the Articles of Confederation, and to what serious 
consequences that condition had led. (See page 35.) 
The members of the Constitutional Convention wished to 
guard against a governmental system so rigid that it could 
not be altered as times changed. They wished, as well, to 
guard against the opposite danger of a governmental sys¬ 
tem too readily and easily changed, for that might lead to 
great confusion. As a result of their labors, they settled 
upon two methods of proposing, and two methods of accept¬ 
ing, or ratifying, amendments. 

The two methods of proposing amendments are: (1) by 
a two-thirds vote of both the Senate and the House; (2) by 
congressional action, calling a national convention for 
that purpose, when asked for by two thirds of the State 
legislatures. All amendments to the Constitution thus far 
have been proposed in accordance with the first method. 

The two methods of ratifying amendments are: (1) ap¬ 
proval by the legislatures of three fourths of the States; 
(2) approval by special conventions in three fourths of the 
States. The first method has been followed in all in¬ 
stances of amendment to date. 

The Constitution forbade certain changes to be made. 
First, it prohibited any change before the year 1808, in 
respect to the compromise reached in the Constitutional 


168 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


[Art. VI 


Convention upon the subject of the slave trade. (See 
page 107.) This provision of the Constitution was of 
a temporary nature, and need not be further considered 
by us. 

Second, it declares that “no State, without its consent, 
shall be deprived of its equal suffrage [voting strength] in 
the Senate.” This provision was the result of the com¬ 
promise in the Convention between the smaller and the 
larger States. (See pages 57-58.) It is the guarantee to 
the smaller States that their interests will be fully protected. 

When the necessary majorities have been secured, an 
amendment is put into effect at once by proclamation of 
the President. An amendment has the same binding 
force as have other parts of the Constitution. 

We see, then, that it is none too easy to change the 
Constitution, but that amendment is possible. An amend¬ 
ment to be carried must have the strong support of a large 
majority of the people. 

Article VI: Public Debt; Supremacy of the 

Constitution 

Clause 1. National Debts. All debts contracted, and engagements 
entered into, before the adoption of this Constitution, shall be as valid 
against the United States under this Constitution, as under the Con¬ 
federation. 

To carry on the War of Independence, the united col¬ 
onies had borrowed large sums of money both at home 
and abroad. (See page 34.) This public debt was after¬ 
ward determined by Hamilton, in President Washington’s 
first administration, to have been in the neighborhood of 
$54,000,000. The promise in Clause 1 that the public debt 
would be paid (“be valid”) was intended to establish con¬ 
fidence in the new government. 


Art. VI] SUPREMACY OF THE CONSTITUTION 


169 


Clause 2. The Constitution the Supreme Law This Constitution, 
and the laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance 
thereof; and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the 
authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land; 
and the judges in every State shall be bound thereby, anything in the 
constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding. 

To understand the great importance of Clause 2, we 
must bear in mind again that, under the Articles of Con¬ 
federation, the States had been more powerful than the 
central government. The framers of the Constitution had 
experienced the evils arising under that system. They 
desired both to preserve State independence and to estab¬ 
lish a real federal union. They desired to secure and 
maintain a proper balance of strength between the States 
and the Federal Government. This was not easily done. 

The problem was solved by making the Federal Govern¬ 
ment supreme in the field of powers given it by the Con¬ 
stitution. The language of Clause 2 upon this point is 
plain and emphatic. This provision declares that the 
Constitution, and the laws and treaties made in accordance 
with it, shall be “the supreme law of the land,” and, further, 
requires “the judges in every State” to be “bound thereby,” 
no matter what the constitutions and laws of their respective 
States may contain to the contrary. The judges are 
specially named because they are the officers who interpret 
the laws, and carry them into effect through their decisions 
and orders. 

We must once more remind ourselves at this point that, 
under our system of government, there is a division of 
powers between the Federal Government and the States. 
The authority of the Federal Government is limited. Within 
the circle of powers granted it by the Constitution, however, 
it is supreme. Outside that circle, it has no powers what¬ 
ever. How is that circle of influence to be discovered? 


170 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


[Art. VII 


What body is to determine the limits of State and of federal 
powers whenever disputes arise? The answer is that the 
Federal Government itself, through the Supreme Court, 
decides whether a law violates the powers given to the 
Federal Government in the Constitution. 

Clause 3. No Religious Test for Office. The senators and repre¬ 
sentatives before mentioned, and the members of the several State 
legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers, both of the United 
States and of the several States, shall be bound by oath or affirmation 
to support this Constitution; but no religious test shall ever be required 
as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States. 

The supremacy of the Constitution is still further safe¬ 
guarded in Clause 3. All officers of both the federal and 
the State governments, before assuming office, must take 
an oath (or “affirmation”) to “support” the Constitution. 
They cannot in honor, therefore, perform any acts which 
are contrary to the Constitution. 

At the time when the Constitution was drawn up, the 
governments of various foreign nations, as well as 
several of the States, recognized certain religious bodies 
(“churches”) as official, or “State,” churches, and con¬ 
trolled their activities. These governments required their 
officers to take oath that they belonged to the State church. 

The government of the United States has no State church.* 
Therefore, religious tests are not only unnecessary, but 
are expressly forbidden, “as a qualification” for those 
holding office under the United States. 

Article VII: Ratification of the Constitution 

The ratification of the conventions of nine States shall be sufficient 
for the establishment of this Constitution between the States so rati¬ 
fying the same. 


*See, also, Amendment I, page 173. 




Art. VII] 


RATIFICATION 


171 


Done in convention, by the unanimous consent of the States pres¬ 
ent, the seventeenth day of September, in the year of our Lord one 
thousand seven hundred and eighty-seven, and of the independence of 
the United States of America the twelfth. 

In witness whereof we have hereunto subscribed our names: 

George Washington, 

President, and Deputy from Virginia, 
(and the thirty-eight other delegates.) 

The effect of Article VII was to bring about a peaceful 
revolution, in declaring that the Constitution should go into 
effect when only nine States had ratified it. The founders of 
the new government felt that, by reason of the critical 
condition of the country at the time, they could not wait 
until all the colonies had .accepted the new government. 
Some one colony might have held out, and thus have 
wrecked all the work and hopes of the founders. The 
ninth State to ratify the Constitution was New Hampshire, 
June 21, 1788. 

Questions and Problems 

1. Why is the power of amendment so important? 

2. How does Article V show that in America the people rule? 

3. What is an unconstitutional law? Who decides whether or not 

a law is unconstitutional? 

Suggested Activities 

1. From your study of the Constitution, make a list of matters 

concerning which your state legislature would have no right 

to make a law. 

2. Ask your parents whether they think any changes should be 

made in our Constitution. 

Topic References 

Howe: New Era Civics, pages 39-40. 

Hughes: Community Civics, pages 104, 214-215, 236. 

Wade and Russell: The Short Constitution, Chapters XXIV and 
XXV. 


CHAPTER XVI 

THE AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION 


The basis of our political system is the right of the 
people to make or alter their constitution of govern¬ 
ment .—George Washington. 


The Bill of Rights: Articles I to X 

One of the chief objections raised against the Constitu¬ 
tion by its opponents at the time of its ratification was 
the fact that no distinct statements in protection of the 
great personal liberties were contained in it. For these 
rights, English-speaking peoples had fought for centuries 
in their struggles against the king. Among them, we 
have already noted trial by jury, freedom of speech, free¬ 
dom of the press, etc. 

To bring about the acceptance of the Constitution it was 
generally agreed that amendments guaranteeing these rights 
would be submitted later. Therefore, twelve amendments 
were proposed to the States by the First Congress in 1789. 
Ten of them were quickly ratified by the necessary number of 
State legislatures, and declared in force, December 15, 1791. 
Taken as a group, these amendments go under the name of 
a “Bill of Rights.” They give a list of fundamental rights 
and privileges that the government of the United States 
cannot take away from its citizens, or deny to them. Amer¬ 
ica is the land of the free. 


172 


Art. I] 


AMENDMENTS 


173 



THE CONGRESSIONAL LIBRARY 

Article I. Freedom of Religion, Speech, the Press, Assembly. Con¬ 
gress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or 
prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of 
speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, 
and to petition the government for redress of grievances. 

Article I deals with rights relating to personal liberty. 

(a) Freedom of Religion. A great many different re¬ 
ligious faiths existed in the original States, and, as we have 
seen, State churches existed. (See page 170.) To set up 
one of these faiths, as a national religion to rule all the 
others, would have caused endless trouble. Amendment I 
assures freedom of religious worship to all. 

(b) Freedom of Speech and of the Press. Freedom of 
speech is also guaranteed in Article I, and freedom of pub¬ 
lication of writings (“freedom of the press”). In cer¬ 
tain countries, men may not say freely what they think 





174 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


[Art. II 


about their rulers, nor may they print in the newspapers, 
or in books, what they believe upon public matters, without 
being subject to arrest if they displease those in power. In 
those countries writings must first be read by an official 
(the “censor”) whose business it is to strike out material 
displeasing to the government. When the Constitution was 
framed this condition existed in most countries. In the 
United States two of the most valued personal nights of 
citizens are freedom of speech and of the press. 

These precious rights, however, may be seriously abused, 
and we have laws (“libel” laws) which protect us against 
persons who by word of mouth or in writing spread false 
reports about us. We should help to preserve these im¬ 
portant rights of freedom of speech and of the press by 
dealing fairly, in spoken word and written word, with our 
fellow-citizens. Otherwise, the liberties, so dearly bought, 
will prove a danger rather than a blessing to the people. 

(c) Freedom of Assembly and of Petition. In times 
past, rulers have forbidden their people to meet in bodies 
to discuss public affairs, because they feared that the people, 
through unified action, might become too strong. The 
rights of the people to meet together and to present a 
statement to the government asking that wrongs be corrected 
(“petition the government for a redress of grievances”) 
seem very simple and natural ones to us today. It took 
centuries, however, for the people to gain them. These 
are fundamental rights under a republican form of govern¬ 
ment. 

Article II. The Right to Keep and Bear Arms. A well-regulated 
militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the 
people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. 

We have spoken earlier of the dread in the minds of the 
people toward a large standing army. Rulers in former 


Art. III-IV] 


AMENDMENTS 


175 


times had oppressed the people by using paid professional 
soldiers against them, and by denying the people the right 
to “keep and bear arms.” Amendment II guarantees to 
the people the right to defend their liberties through the 
militia, which, coming forth from the people themselves, 
could not be used against them to any extent. (See page 101.) 

Article III. No Quartering of Troops. No soldier shall, in time of 
peace, be quartered in any house, without consent of the owner; nor 
in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law. 

The people had been oppressed in colonial days by being 
forced to keep soldiers in their homes against their will.' 
This was a means of breaking down their resistance to 
unjust acts of their rulers. One of the causes of the Revolu¬ 
tion had been this “quartering” (sometimes called “billet¬ 
ing”) of soldiers upon the colonists by the British govern¬ 
ment. Acts of this kind are prohibited to the Federal 
Government, except under certain just conditions. 

Article IV. Freedom from Unreasonable Search and Seizure. The 

right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and 
effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be vio¬ 
lated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported 
by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be 
searched, and the persons or things to be seized. 

The officers of the ruler in earlier times could violate, 
as they pleased, the sacredness of the home. They could 
go into a man’s private dwelling and seize the man himself, 
or his goods, without giving any reason. The people gained 
the right of protection against “unreasonable searches and 
seizures” only after a long, hard struggle. Indeed, even 
as late as the Revolution, the colonists had held one of 
their chief grievances against the British government to 
be the violation (by officers of the king) of this dearly- 
bought right. (See the Declaration of Independence.) 


176 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


[Art, V-VIII 


Hence, the people, in Amendment IV, took care to guar¬ 
antee their liberties in this important respect. This pro¬ 
vision makes it impossible for any officer of the Federal 
Government to enter a private home for purposes of search 
or seizure of property, unless for good cause and under the 
authority of a court of law. The paper giving this authority 
is called a “search warrant.” A person whose home is 
entered by officers may demand to see this warrant. 

• 

Article V. Rights of Persons Accused of Crime. No person shall be 
held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a 
presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in 
the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in 
time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the 
same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be 
compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor 
be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; 
nor shall private property be taken for public use without just com¬ 
pensation. 

Article VI. Trial by Jury in Criminal Cases. In all criminal prose¬ 
cutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by 
an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have 
been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained 
by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; 
to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory 
process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance 
of counsel for his defense. 

Article VII. Trial by Jury in Civil Cases. In suits at common law, 
where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right 
of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury shall be 
otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than accord¬ 
ing to the rules of the common law. 

Article VIII. No Excessive Bail, Fines, nor Cruel Punishments. 

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor 
cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. 

The meaning of jury trial, its importance, and the chief 


Art. IX] 


AMENDMENTS 


177 


points in the process, were dealt with when we read about 
the judicial department. (See pages 152-154.) 

The provision in Amendment V that a person’s property 
shall not be taken from him “without due process of law” 
is the cornerstone of our rights relating to property. The 
further provision that private property shall not be seized 
for public purposes “without just compensation,” reinforces 
the right. The Federal Government may secure private 
property for public uses (as, for example, for a post office 
building), but not until a reasonable amount, based upon 
a just valuation, has been paid to the owner for it. This 
right of the government is known as that of “eminent 
domain.” 

| 

Article IX. Additional Guarantee of People's Rights. The enumera¬ 
tion in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to 
deny or disparage others retained by the people. 

The Constitution makes direct mention (“enumeration”) 
of certain long-recognized personal rights of the people, 
like those of habeas corpus, freedom of religion, freedom 
of the press, etc. Not all such rights can be enumerated 
in a document as brief as the Constitution. Hence, Article 
IX states that, if rights are not directly mentioned, they 
are not to be considered as having been given up by the 
people, nor shall the Federal Government do anything to 
take them away from the people. 

Duties Corresponding to Rights 

Having made a study of our rights, it is well for us 
to pause to remember that for every right given us, we 
have a duty that we must fulfill. We should live up 
to our duties just as strictly as we should demand our 
rights. 


178 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


[Art. IX 



RAISING THE ROOSEVELT MEMORIAL FLAG UNDER GUARD 
OF A DETACHMENT OF BOY SCOUTS 

First and foremost, as good citizens, it is our duty to 
obey and support the law. The best way by which to 
have an unwise or unjust law changed, is for all to obey it. 
Then its weak or dangerous points become clear, and public 
opinion quickly brings about its change or repeal. “The 
best way to secure the repeal of a bad law is to enforce it,” 
said President Ulysses S. Grant. 

Again, as good citizens, it is our duty to respect and pay 
honor to the Flag of our country. When “Old Glory” 
is carried past, as in a parade, we should stand at respectful 
attention, and men and boys should uncover their heads: 

Uncover when the flag goes by, boys, 

’Tis freedom’s starry banner that you greet, 

Flag famed in song and story, 

Long may it wave, Old Glory, 

The Flag that has never known defeat. 

—Benjamin and, Sutton. 











Art. X] 


AMENDMENTS 


179 


Again, as good citizens we should share willingly and 
cheerfully in helping to bear the common load of govern¬ 
ment. As we grow older, we should not shirk in paying 
taxes, serving on juries, voting on election day, and per¬ 
forming military service in case of need. 

The great British admiral, Lord Nelson, at the battle of 
Trafalgar, gave to his men the famous message: “England 
expects every man to do his duty.” Thus will our free 
institutions be safe, so long as our citizens do their duty 
toward their country, intelligently and unselfishly. “The 
two essentials of good citizenship are knowledge and service .” 

Article X. Reserved Powers. The powers not delegated to the 
United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, 
are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. 

Article X is a definite statement of the plan upon which 
the Union was formed. The Federal Government is a 
government of limited powers. It possesses only certain 
powers listed in the Constitution and in the amendments. 
(See pages 18, 169.) All other powers are held either by 
the States (unless denied to them) or by the people. 

We have seen that, in a republic, all powers of govern¬ 
ment begin with and belong to the “governed”—that is, 
to the people. The people may give and they may forbid 
the use of those powers to the various agencies set up to 
carry out their will. They may divide those powers among 
the different agencies as they think best. 

In the Constitution the people did divide and distribute 
the powers of government according to the following plan: 

1. They granted certain powers to the Federal Govern¬ 
ment alone, such as the power to make treaties. 

2. They permitted the States to keep certain powers 
exclusively, such as the power to pass laws on the subject 
of marriage and divorce. 


180 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


[Art. XI-XII 


3. They allowed both the Federal Government and 
the States to exercise certain powers in common, such as 
the power to levy taxes. 

4. They prohibited the exercise of certain powers by 
the government of the United States, such as the levying 
of export duties. 

5. They prohibited the exercise of certain powers by 
the States, such as the power to coin money. 

6. They kept certain powers in their own hands, such 
as the power to change the Constitution. 

The Constitution, then, draws a circle about the powers 
granted to the Federal Government and those reserved 
to the States. Each government is to have control within 
its own circle of powers. We have already seen that the 
►Supreme Court decides which government shall exercise 
powers when a conflict between a State and the Federal 
Government arises. (See pages 169-170.) 

Later Amendments: Articles XI to XIX 

Article XI. Limitations on Powers of Federal Courts. The judicial 
power of the United States shall not be construed to extend to any suit 
in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the United 
States by citizens of another State, or by citizens or subjects of any 
foreign state. 

Article XI has been considered sufficiently in our study 
of the judicial department. (See Chapter XIII.) 

Article XII. Method of Election of President and Vice President. 

The electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by ballot 
for President and Vice President, one of whom, at least, shall not 
be an inhabitant of the same State with themselves; they shall 
name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct 
ballots the person voted for as Vice President; and they shall make 
distinct lists of all persons voted for as President, and of all persons 


Art. XIII] 


AMENDMENTS 


181 


voted for as Vice President, and of the number of votes for each; which 
lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the 
Government of the United States, directed to the president of the 
Senate. The president of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate 
and House of Representatives, open all the certificates, and the votes 
shall then be counted. The person having the greatest number of 
votes for President shall be the President, if such number be a majority 
of the whole number of electors appointed; and if no person have such 
majority, then from the persons having the highest numbers not 
exceeding three on the list of those voted for as President, the House 
of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President. 
But in choosing the President the votes shall be taken by States, the 
representation from each State having one vote; a quorum for this 
purpose shall consist of a member or members from two thirds of the 
States, and a majority of all the States shall be necessary to a choice. 
And if the House of Representatives shall not choose a President 
whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the 
fourth day of March next following, then the Vice President shall act 
as President, as in the case of the death or other constitutional dis¬ 
ability of the President. 

The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice President 
shall be the Vice President, if such number be a majority of the whole 
number of electors appointed; and if no person have a majority, then 
from the two highest numbers on the list the Senate shall choose 
the Vice President; a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two 
thirds of the whole number of senators, and a majority of the whole 
number shall be necessary to a choice. But no person constitution¬ 
ally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice 
President of the United States. 

Article XII has been considered sufficiently in our study 
of the elections of President and Vice President. (See 
pages 117-118.) 

Article XIII. Slavery Abolished. Section 1. Neither slavery nor 
involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime, whereof the 
party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United 
States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. 

Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by 
appropriate legislation. 


182 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


[Aft. XIV 



A VIEW IN ONE OF OUR NINETEEN GREAT NATIONAL PARKS CREATED 
FOR OUR PEOPLE BY THE GOVERNMENT 


Article XIV. Section 1. Citizenship Defined and Guaranteed. All 

persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the 
jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State 
wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which 
shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United 
States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or prop¬ 
erty, without due process of law, nor deny to any person within its 
jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. 

Section 2. Apportionment of Representatives. Representatives 
shall be apportioned among the several States according to their 
respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each 
State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any 
election for the choice of electors for President and Vice President of 
the United States, representatives in Congress, the executive and 
judicial officers of a State, or the members of the legislature thereof, is 
denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one 
years of age and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, 



Art. XV] 


AMENDMENTS 


183 


except for participation in rebellion or other crime, the basis of repre¬ 
sentation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number 
of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens 
twenty-one years of age in such State. 

Section 3. Certain Persons Denied Office. No person shall be a 
senator or representative in Congress, or elector of President or Vice 
President or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, 
or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath as a member 
of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of 
any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, 
to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in 
insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to 
the enemies thereof. But Congress may, by a vote of two thirds of 
each house, remove such disability. 

Section 4. National Debts Guaranteed and Certain Others Denied. 
The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, 
including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for 
services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be ques¬ 
tioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or 
pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion 
against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation 
of any slave; but all such debts, obligations, and claims shall be held 
illegal and void. 

Section 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropri¬ 
ate legislation, the provisions of this article. 

Article XV. Right to Vote Guaranteed. Section 1. The right of 
citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by 
the United States, or by any State, on account of race, color, or pre¬ 
vious condition of servitude. 

Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article 
by appropriate legislation. 

These three amendments resulted from the Civil War, and 
were adopted as follows: the XHIth in 1865, the XIVth 
in 1868, and the XVth in 1870. 

In the midst of the war President Lincoln issued his 
celebrated Emancipation Proclamation, setting free the 
negro slaves within certain States. He took this action as 
a war measure, under the “war powers” granted to the 


184 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


[Art. XVI-XVII 


President in the Constitution. Several States in which 
slavery existed were not named in the Proclamation. To 
abolish human slavery for all time in all the States, Amend¬ 
ment XIII was adopted. 

The first part of Amendment XIV gives the definition 
of citizenship which has already been considered. (See 
pages 86-87.) The amendment as a whole was intended 
to protect the personal rights of the freed slaves. It has, 
however, a broader application to all citizens. The clauses 
relating to the apportionment of representatives and 
denying office to certain persons grew out of conditions 
immediately following the Civil War. 

Amendment XV admitted the freed negroes to full politi¬ 
cal rights. 

Article XVI. Income Tax Authorized. The Congress shall have 
power to lay and collect taxes on incomes from whatever source derived, 
without apportionment among the several States, and without regard 
to any census or enumeration. 

Article XVI, adopted in 1913, has already been con¬ 
sidered in our study of taxation. (See page 109.) 

Article XVII. The Direct Election of United States Senators. 

The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two senators 
from each State, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and 
each senator shall have one vote. The electors in each State shall 
have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous 
branch of the State legislatures. 

When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in the 
Senate, the executive authority of such State shall issue writs of 
election to fill such vacancies; provided, that the legislature of any 
State may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appoint¬ 
ments until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature 
may direct. 

This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the election 
or term of any senator chosen before it becomes valid as part of the 
Constitution. 


Art. XVIII-XIX] 


AMENDMENTS 


185 


Article XVII has already been considered sufficiently, in 
connection with our study of the election of United States 
senators. (See pages 63-65.) It was adopted in 1913. 

Article XVIII. The Prohibition of Intoxicating Liquors. Section 
1. After one year from the ratification of this article the manufacture, 
sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation 
thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States and 
all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof, for beverage purposes, 
is hereby prohibited. 

Section 2. The Congress and the several States shall have con¬ 
current power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. 

Section 3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have 
been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures 
of the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven 
years from the date of the submission hereof to the States by Congress. 

In the period just before the Civil War, several States 
passed laws stopping the manufacture and sale of intoxi¬ 
cating liquors. This “prohibition movement” grew stronger 
toward the last quarter of the nineteenth century. The 
advocates of prohibition were called the “drys”; their 
opponents, the “wets.” As time went on, many States 
began to go dry by what was known as “local option”; 
that is, the people by vote applied prohibition to their 
counties, towns, or cities. Finally, national prohibition 
came to the front again as a part of the conduct of the 
great World War. The Prohibition Amendment was 
adopted in 1919 and went into effect in 1920. 

Article XIX. Suffrage for Women. Section 1. The right of citizens 
of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the 
United States or by any State on account of sex. 

Section 2. Congress shall have power, by appropriate legislation, 
to enforce the provisions of this article. 

Article XIX was submitted to the States by Congress 
in June, 1919, and ratified by the necessary number in 


18G 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


[Art. XIN 


August, 1920. It marked the triumph of a long struggle 
by women to secure full political equality with men. 

The Constitution had not recognized women as voters. 
However, the States were free to extend to them the suffrage 
privilege. Women voted in New Jersey for a brief time in 
the early years of the nineteenth century. In the middle of 
the century, the woman suffrage movement got under real 
headway. Susan B. Anthony gained national fame as a 
leader in the cause of the rights of women. “On this 
line we propose to fight our battle for the ballot—peaceably, 
but nevertheless persistently—until we achieve complete 
triumph, and all United States citizens, men and women 
alike, are recognized in government,” said Susan B. Anthony. 
The new States in the west were the first ones to accept this 
liberal idea in their constitutions. When admitted as a 
State, Wyoming, in 1890, gave women the right to vote and 
hold office in that State. Colorado, Utah, and Idaho fol¬ 
lowed in quick succession. By 1920, more than twenty 
other States had granted full, or partial, woman suffrage. 

Great progress had been made, but in the majority of 
States women were still debarred from voting in presidential 
elections. An amendment to the Constitution was the 
only means by which that end could be achieved. At 
several sessions of Congress, such an amendment failed to 
pass. The women formed a strong national organization 
in support of it, headed by Dr. Anna H. Shaw. They called 
the amendment the “Susan B. Anthony Amendment.” 
Congress submitted the amendment to the States in June, 

1919, and it was ratified by the necessary number in August, 

1920. Tennessee was the thirty-sixth State to ratify. The 
proclamation putting in force the XIXth Amendment 
came in time for women to vote in the presidential election 
of 1920. 


AMENDMENTS 


187 


Questions and Problems 

1. Why is the right of jury trial held to be so precious? 

2. Why is the government allowed to seize private property? 

3. What are some of the abuses of freedom of speech? How may 

they be corrected? 

4. What newspapers do you read? What magazines? Make a 

list of the newspapers and magazines that you read. 

5. What reasons do you find in favor of woman suffrage? 

6. What should be our attitude toward our fellow-citizens of differ¬ 

ent religious faith from ours? 

Suggested Activities 

1. Find items in the newspapers showing how persons are employ¬ 

ing these various civil rights. Bring the clippings to class and 
report upon them. 

2. Find items in the press (or from your experience), showing how 

citizens are fulfilling, or not fulfilling, their civic duties. Make 
reports to the class. 

3. Visit a newspaper plant in your community. Trace the various 

stages by which a modern newspaper is got ready and printed. 
Make oral and written reports to the class. 

4. Write a statement of the influence of the newspaper in present- 

day American life, showing what abuses, if any, have crept 
in, and how they may be corrected. 

5. Find material on the lives of Susan B. Anthony and Dr. Anna H. 

Shaw. Make reports to the class. 

6. Look up in the newspaper files and magazines the incidents 

connected with the appointment of the first woman senator of 
the United States, and of her reception in the Senate. Repro¬ 
duce in dramatic form (one of the girls of the class taking the 
part), the scene of her reception in the Senate. 

7. Make a list of powers: 

(а) given to the central government; 

(б) denied to it; 

(c) denied to the States; 

(d) denied to both. 

Topic References 

Adams: A Community Civics , pages 198-201. 

Howe: New Era Civics , Chapters X-XI. 

Hughes: Community Civics, pages 467-468. 

Turkington: My Country, pages 166-167, 207, 244. 

Wade and Russell: The Short Constitution, Chapters IX-XYII. 







THE LIBERTY BELL 








APPENDIX 

THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 

In Congress, July 4, 1776. 

The following declaration of principles was agreed to on July 4, 1776, 
and is thus recorded in the Journal of Congress for that day: 

Agreeably to the order of the day, the Congress resolved itself into a 
committee of the whole to take into their further consideration the 
Declaration; and, after some time, the president resumed the chair, 
and Mr. Harrison reported that the committee have agreed to a Declara¬ 
tion, which they desired him to report. The Declaration being read, 
was agreed to as follows: 

THE UNANIMOUS DECLARATION OF THE THIRTEEN 
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one 
people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with 
another, and to assume, among the powers of the earth, the separate 
and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature’s God entitle 
them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they 
should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. 

We hold these truths to be self-evident: That all men are created 
equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalien¬ 
able rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happi¬ 
ness; that, to secure these rights, governments are instituted among 
men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; 
that, whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these 
ends, it is right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute 
a new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organ¬ 
izing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect 
their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that gov¬ 
ernments long established should not be changed for light and transient 
causes; and, accordingly, all experience hath shown that mankind are 
more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right them¬ 
selves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But 
when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the 

189 


190 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, 
it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to 
provide new guards for their future security. Such has been the patient 
sufferance of these colonies; and such is now the necessity which con¬ 
strains them to alter their former systems of government. The history 
of the present king of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and 
usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute 
tyranny over these states. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a 
candid world. 

[There is omitted here a long list of particular grievances that the 
colonists held against the king. Some of these are of special interest 
to us because we can see by our study of the Constitution how careful 
the framers were to guard against such abuse and loss of liberty under 
the new government. These are some of the grievances: refusal to 
allow the people to be represented in the law-making bodies; interfer¬ 
ence with the courts of law; the keeping up of large armies without 
the people’s consent; taxation without the people’s consent; denial of 
trial by jury.] 

In every stage of these oppressions we have petitioned for redress 
in the most humble terms; our repeated petitions have been answered 
only by repeated injury. A prince, whose character is thus marked by 
every act which may define a tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free 
people. 

Nor have we been wanting in our attentions to our British brethren. 
We have warned them, from time to time, of attempts by their legis¬ 
lature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have 
reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement 
here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and 
we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow 
these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections 
and correspondence. They, too, have been deaf to the voice of justice 
and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity 
which denounces our separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest 
of mankind—enemies in war; in peace, friends. 

We therefore, the representatives of the United States of America, 
in general Congress assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the 
world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name and by the 
authority of the good people of these colonies, solemnly publish and 
declare that these united colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and 
independent states; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the 
British crown, and that all political connection between them and the 
state of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved; and that 
as free and independent states, they have full power to levy war, con- 


APPENDIX 


191 


elude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and do all other 
acts and things which independent states may of right do. And for the 
support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of 
Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our for¬ 
tunes, and our sacred honor. 

The foregoing declaration was, by order of Congress, engrossed and 
signed by the following members: 

John Hancock. 


New Hampshire 
Josiah Bartlett 
William Whipple 
Matthew Thornton 

Massachusetts Bay 
Samuel Adams 
John Adams 
Robert Treat Paine 
Elbridge Gerry 
John Hart 
Abraham Clark 

Pennsylvania 
Robert Morris 
Benjamin Rush 
Benjamin Franklin 
John Morton 
George Clymer 
James Smith 
George Taylor 
James Wilson 
George Ross 

Delaware 
Caesar Rodney 
George Read 


Rhode Island 
Stephen Hopkins 
William Ellery 

Connecticut 
Roger Sherman 
Samuel Huntington 
William Williams 
Oliver Wolcott 
Thomas M’Kean 


New York 
William Floyd 
Philip Livingston 
Francis Lewis 
Lewis Morris 

New Jersey 
Richard Stockton 
John Witherspoon 
Francis Hopkinson 


Maryland 
Samuel Chase 
William Paca 
Thomas Stone 
Charles Carroll of Car 
rollton 

Virginia 
George Wythe 
Richard Henry Lee 
Thomas Jefferson 
Benjamin Harrison 
Thomas Nelson, Jr. 
Francis Lightfoot Lee 
Carter Braxton 


North Carolina 
William Hooper 
Joseph Hewes 
John Penn 

South Carolina 
Edward Rutledge 
Thomas Heyward, Jr. 
Thomas Lynch, Jr. 
Arthur Middleton 

Georgia 
Button Gwinnett 
Lyman Hall 
George Walton 


THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 


PREAMBLE 

We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect 
union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the 
common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings 
of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this 
Constitution for the United States of America. 

ARTICLE I 

THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT 

The Two Houses of Congress 

Section 1. All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in 
a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and 
a House of Representatives. 

The House of Representatives 

Section 2. The House of Representatives shall be composed of 
members chosen every second year by the people of the several States, 
and the electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite 
for electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislature. 

No person shall be a representative who shall not have attained to 
the age of twenty-five years, and been seven years a citizen of the 
United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of 
that State in which he shall be chosen. 

(Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among the 
several States which may be included within this Union, according to 
their respective numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the 
whole number of free persons, including those bound to service for a 
term of years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three-fifths of all 
other persons.)* The actual enumeration shall be made within three 
years after the first meeting of the Congress of the United States, and 
within every subsequent term of ten years, in such manner as they 
shall by law direct. The number of representatives shall not exceed 
one for every thirty thousand, but each State shall have at least one 
representative; and until such enumeration shall be made the State 

* Partly changed by the Fourteenth Amendment. 

192 



APPENDIX 


193 


of New Hampshire shall be entitled to choose three; Massachusetts, 
eight; Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, one; Connecticut, 
five; New York, six; New Jersey, four; Pennsylvania, eight; Delaware, 
one; Maryland, six; Virginia, ten; North Carolina, five; South Carolina, 
five; and Georgia, three. 

When vacancies happen in the representation from any State, the 
executive authority thereof shall issue writs of election to fill such 
vacancies. 

The Plouse of Representatives shall choose their Speaker and other 
officers, and shall have the sole power of impeachment. 

The Senate 

Section 3. The Senate of the United States shall be composed of 
two senators from each State, chosen by the legislature thereof, for six 
years; and each senator shall have one vote. 

Immediately after they shall be assembled in consequence of the 
first election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into three 
classes. The seats of the senators of the first class shall be vacated 
at the expiration of the second year; of the second class, at the expira¬ 
tion of the fourth year; and of the third class, at the expiration of the 
sixth year, so that one third may be chosen every second year; and if 
vacancies happen by resignation, or otherwise, during the recess of the 
legislature of any State, the executive thereof may make temporary 
appointments until the next meeting of the legislature, which shall 
then fill such vacancies. 

No person shall be a senator who shall not have attained to the age 
of thirty years, and been nine years a citizen of the United States, and 
who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that State for which 
he shall be chosen. 

The Vice President of the United States shall be president of the 
Senate, but shall have no vote, unless they be equally divided. 

The Senate shall choose their other officers, and also a president 
pro tempore, in the absence of the Vice President, or when he shall 
exercise the office of President of the United States. 

The Senate shall have the sole power to try all impeachments; when 
sitting for that purpose, they shall be on oath or affirmation. When 
the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall pre¬ 
side; and no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two 
thirds of the members present. 

Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend further than to 
removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office 
of honor, trust, or profit under the United States; but the party con¬ 
victed shall, nevertheless, be liable and subject to indictment, trial, 
judgment, and punishment according to law. 


194 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


Election of Members of Congress; Sessions 

Section 4. The times, places, and manner of holding elections for 
senators and representatives shall be prescribed in each State by the 
legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time, by law, make 
or alter such regulations, except as to the places of choosing senators. 

The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such 
meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they shall 
by law appoint a different day. 

Powers of Congress Over Its Members; Other Rules 

Section 5. Each house shall be the judge of the elections, returns, 
and qualifications of its own members, and a majority of each shall con¬ 
stitute a quorum to do business; but a smaller number may adjourn 
from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the attendance of 
absent members, in such manner and under such penalties as each 
house may provide. 

Each house may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish its 
members for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two 
thirds, expel a member. 

Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and from time 
to time publish the same, excepting such parts as may in their judg¬ 
ment require secrecy; and the yeas and nays of the members of either 
house on any question shall, at the desire of one fifth of those present, 
be entered on the journal. 

Neither house, during the session of Congress, shall, without the 
consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any 
other place than that in which the two houses shall be sitting. 

Pay, Privileges, and Restrictions of Members 

Section 6. The senators and representatives shall receive a com¬ 
pensation for their services, to be ascertained by law, and paid out of 
the treasury of the United States. They shall in all cases, except 
treason, felony, and breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest 
during their attendance at the session of their respective houses, and 
in going to and returning from the same; and for any speech or debate 
in either house, they shall not be questioned in any other place. 

No senator or representative shall, during the time for which he was 
elected, be appointed to any civil office under the authority of the 
United States which shall have been created, or the emoluments whereof 
shall have been increased, during such time; and no person holding 
any office under the United States shall be a member of either house 
during his continuance in office. 


APPENDIX 


195 


Steps in the Passing of Laws 

Section 7. All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of 
Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with amend¬ 
ments as on other bills. 

Every bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and 
the Senate shall, before it become a law, be presented to the President 
of the United States; if he approve, he shall sign it, but if not, he shall 
return it, with his objections, to that house in which it shall have orig¬ 
inated, who shall enter the objections at large on their journal, and pro¬ 
ceed to reconsider it. If after such reconsideration two thirds of that 
house shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, together with the 
objections, to the other house, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, 
and if approved by two thirds of that house, it shall become a law. But 
in all such cases the votes of both houses shall be determined by yeas 
and nays, and the names of the persons voting for and against the bill 
shall be entered on the journal of each house respectively. If any bill 
shall not be returned by the President within ten days (Sundays ex¬ 
cepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall be a 
law, in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their 
adjournment prevent its return, in which case it shall not be a law. 

Every order, resolution, or vote to which the concurrence of the 
Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a 
question of adjournment) shall be presented to the President of the 
United States; and before the same shall take effect, shall be approved 
by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by two thirds 
of the Senate and House of Representatives, according to the rules and 
limitations prescribed in the case of a bill. 

Powers Given to Congress 

Section 8. The Congress shall have power: 

To lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises, to pay the 
debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the 
United States; but all duties, imposts, and excises shall be uniform 
throughout the United States; 

To borrow money on the credit of the United States; 

To regulate commerce with foreign nations and among the several 
States, and with the Indian tribes; 

To establish a uniform rule of naturalization, and uniform laws on 
the subject of bankruptcies throughout the United States; 

To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, and 
fix the standard of weights and measures; 

To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities and 
current coin of the United States; 


196 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


To establish post offices and post roads; 

To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing, for 
limited times, to authors and inventors, the exclusive right to their 
respective writings and discoveries; 

To constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court; 

To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high 
seas, and offenses against the law of nations; 

To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules 
concerning captures on land and water; 

To raise and support armies, but no appropriation of money to that 
use shall be for a longer term than two years; 

To provide and maintain a navy; 

To make rules for the government and regulation of the land and 
naval forces; 

To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the 
Union, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions; 

To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the militia, and 
for governing such part of them as may be employed in the service of the 
United States, reserving to the States, respectively, the appointment of 
the officers and the authority of training the militia according to the 
discipline prescribed by Congress; 

To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever, over such 
district (not exceeding ten miles square) as may, by cession of par¬ 
ticular States, and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat of the 
government of the United States, and to exercise like authority over all 
places purchased by the consent of the legislature of the State in which 
the same shall be, for the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dock¬ 
yards, and other needful buildings; and— 

To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into 
execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this 
Constitution in the government of the United States, or in any depart¬ 
ment or officer thereof. 

Powers Denied to Congress 

Section 9. The migration or importation of such persons as any of 
the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be pro¬ 
hibited by the Congress prior to the year one thousand eight hundred 
and eight, but a tax or duty may be imposed on such importation, not 
exceeding ten dollars for each person. 

The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, 
unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may 
require it. 

No bill of attainder or ex post facto law shall be passed. 


APPENDIX 


197 


No capitation or other direct tax shall be laid, unless in propor¬ 
tion to the census or enumeration hereinbefore directed to be taken. 

No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any State. 

No preference shall be given by any regulation of commerce or 
revenue to the ports of one State over those of another; nor shall vessels 
bound to, or from, one State, be obliged to enter, clear, or pay duties in 
another. 

No money shall be drawn from the treasury but in consequence of 
appropriations made by law; and a regular statement and account of the 
receipts and expenditures of all public money shall be published from 
time to time. 

No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States; and no 
person holding any office of profit or trust under them shall, without the 
consent of the Congress, accept of any present, emolument, office, or 
title, of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign state. 

Powers Denied to the States 

Section 10. No State shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or con¬ 
federation; grant letters of marque and reprisal; coin money; emit bills 
of credit ; make anything but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of 
debts; pass any bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law impairing the 
obligation of contracts, or grant any title of nobility. 

No State shall, without the consent of the Congress, lay any imposts 
or duties on imports or exports, except what may be absolutely neces¬ 
sary for executing its inspection laws; and the net produce of all duties 
and imposts, laid by any State on imports or exports, shall be for the use 
of the treasury of the United States; and all such laws shall be subject 
to the revision and control of the Congress. 

No State shall, without the consent of Congress, lay any duty of ton¬ 
nage, keep troops or ships of war in time of peace, enter into any agree¬ 
ment or compact with another State, or with a foreign power, or engage 
in war, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent danger as will not 
admit of delay. 

ARTICLE II 

THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT 

Election, Term, and Qualifications of President and Vice President 

Section 1. The executive power shall be vested in a President of the 
United States of America. He shall hold his office during the term of 
four years, and, together with the Vice President, chosen for the same 
term, be elected, as follows: 

Each State shall appoint, in such manner as the legislature thereof 
may direct, a number of electors, equal to the whole number of senators 


198 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


and representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress; 
but no senator or representative, or person holding an office of trust or 
profit under the United States, shall be appointed an elector. 

(The electors shall meet in their respective States and vote by ballot 
for two persons, of whom one at least shall not be an inhabitant of the 
same State with themselves. And they shall make a list of all the 
persons voted for, and of the number of votes for each; which list they 
shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government 
of the United States, directed to the president of the Senate. The 
president of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of 
Representatives, open all the certificates, and the votes shall then 
be counted. The person having the greatest number of votes shall 
be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number 
of electors appointed; and if there be more than one who have such 
majority, and have an equal number of votes, then the House of 
Representatives shall immediately choose by ballot one of them for 
President; and if no person have a majority, then from the five highest 
on the list the said House shall, in like manner, choose the President. 
But in choosing the President the votes shall be taken by States, 
the representation from each State having one vote; a quorum for this 
purpose shall consist of a member or members from two thirds of the 
States, and a majority of all the States shall be necessary to a choice. 
In every case, after the choice of the President, the person having the 
greatest number of votes of the electors shall be the Vice President. 
But if there should remain two or more who have equal votes, the 
Senate shall choose from them by ballot the Vice President.)* 

The Congress may determine the time of choosing the electors, and 
the day on which they shall give their votes; which day shall be the same 
throughout the United States. 

No person except a natural-born citizen, or a citizen of the United 
States at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible 
to the office of President; neither shall any person be eligible to that 
office who shall not have attained to the age of thirty-five years, and 
been fourteen years a resident within the United States. 

In case of the removal of the President from office, or of his death, 
resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties of the said 
office, the same shall devolve on the Vice President, and the Congress 
may by law provide for the case of removal, death, resignation, or 
inability, both of the President and Vice President, declaring what 
officer shall then act as President; and such officer shall act accordingly, 
until the disability be removed, or a President shall be elected. 

The President shall, at stated times, receive for his services a com¬ 
pensation^ be increased nor diminished during the 

*This paragraph was in force only from 1788 to 1803. 



APPENDIX 


199 


period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive 
within that period any other emolument from the United States,-or any 
of them. 

Before he enter on the execution of his office, he shall take the follow¬ 
ing oath or affirmation: “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will 
faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will, 
to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution 
of the United States.” 

Powers and Duties of the President 

Section 2. The President shall be commander in chief of the army 
and navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several States, 
when called into the actual service of the United States; he may require 
the opinion, in writing, of the principal officer in each of the executive 
departments, upon any subject relating to the duties of their respective 
offices; and he shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for 
offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment. 

He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the 
Senate, to make treaties, provided two thirds of the senators present 
concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent 
of the Senate shall appoint ambassadors, other public ministers and 
consuls, judges of the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the United 
States whose appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and 
which shall be established by law; but the Congress may by law vest the 
appointment of such inferior offices as they think proper in the President 
alone, in the courts of law, or in the heads of departments. 

The President shall have power to fill up all vacancies that may hap¬ 
pen during the recess of the Senate, by granting commissions which 
shall expire at the end of their next session. 

Section 3. He shall from time to time give to the Congress informa¬ 
tion of the state of the Union, and recommend to their consideration 
such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on 
extraordinary occasions, convene both houses, or either of them, and 
in case of disagreement between them, with respect to the time of 
adjournment, he may adjourn them to such time as he shall think 
proper; he shall receive ambassadors and other public ministers; he 
shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed, and shall commis¬ 
sion all the officers of the United States. 

Impeachment of the President and of Civil Officers 

Section 4. The President, Vice President, and all civil officers of the 
United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and 
conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors. 


200 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


ARTICLE III 

THE JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT 

The United States Courts 

Section 1. The judicial power of the United States shall be vested in 
one Supreme Court, and in such inferior courts as the Congress may 
from time to time ordain and establish. The judges, both of the 
Supreme and inferior courts, shall hold their offices during good behav¬ 
ior, and shall, at stated times, receive for their services a compensation 
which shall not be diminished during their continuance in office. 

Cases in Which the United States Courts Have Authority 

Section 2. The judicial power shall extend to all cases, in law and 
equity, arising under this Constitution, the laws of the United States, 
and treaties made, or which shall be made, under their authority; to all 
cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers, and consuls; to all 
cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction; to controversies to which 
the United States shall be a party; to controversies between two or more 
States; (between a State and citizens of another State);* between 
citizens of different States; between citizens of the same State claiming 
lands under grants of different States, and between a State, or the 
citizens thereof, and foreign states, citizens, or subjects. 

In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers, and consuls, 
and those in which a State shall be party, the Supreme Court shall have 
original jurisdiction. In all the other cases before mentioned, the 
Supreme Court shall have appellate jurisdiction, both as to law and 
fact, with such exceptions and under such regulations as the Congress 
shall make. 

The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment, shall be by 
jury; and such trial shall be held in the State where the said crimes shall 
have been committed; but when not committed within any State, the 
trial shall be at such place or places as the Congress may by law have 
directed. 

Treason and Its Punishment 

Section 3. Treason against the United States shall consist only in 
levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them 
aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on 
the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession 
in open court. 

The Congress shall have power to declare the punishment of treason, 


*Cancelled by the Eleventh Amendment. 



APPENDIX 


201 


but no attainder of treason shall work corruption of blood, or forfeiture, 
except during the life of the person attainted. 

ARTICLE IV 

RELATION OF THE STATE AND FEDERAL GOVERNMENTS 

Acts and Records of One State to be Respected by the Others 

Section 1. Full faith and credit shall be given in each State to the 
public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other State. 
And the Congress may, by general laws, prescribe the manner in which 
such acts, records, and proceedings shall be proved, and the effect 
thereof. 

Rights of Citizens the Same in All States 

Section 2. The citizens of each State shall be entitled to all privi¬ 
leges and immunities of citizens in the several States. 

A person charged in any State with treason, felony, or other crime, 
who shall flee from justice, and be found in another State, shall, on 
demand of the executive authority of the State from which he fled, be 
delivered up, to be removed to the State having jurisdiction of the 
crime. 

No person held to service'or labor in one State, under the laws 
thereof, escaping into another, shall in consequence of any law or 
regulation therein, be discharged from such service or labor, but shall 
be delivered up on claim of the party to whom such service or labor 
may be due. 

Admission of New States and Government of Territories 

Section 3. New States may be admitted by the Congress into this 
Union; but no new State shall be formed or erected within the juris¬ 
diction of any other State; nor any State be formed by the junction of 
two or more States, or parts of States, without the consent of the 
legislatures of the States concerned as well as of the Congress. 

The Congress shall have power to dispose of and make all needful 
rules and regulations respecting the territory or other property belong¬ 
ing to the United States; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so 
construed as to prejudice any claims of the United States, or of any 
particular State. 

Guarantees to the States 

Section 4. The United States shall guarantee to every State in this 
Union a republican form of government, and shall protect each of 
them against invasion; and on application of the legislature, or of the 


202 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


executive (when the legislature cannot be convened) against domestic 
violence. 

ARTICLE V 

POWER AND METHOD OF AMENDING THE CONSTITUTION 

The Congress, whenever two thirds of both houses shall deem it 
necessary, shall propose amendments to this Constitution, or, on the 
application of the legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall 
call a convention for proposing amendments, which, in either case, 
shall be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of this Constitution, 
when ratified by the legislatures of three fourths of the several States, 
or by conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other 
mode of ratification may be proposed by the Congress; provided that 
no amendment which may be made prior to the year one thousand 
eight hundred and eight shall in any manner affect the first and fourth 
clauses in the ninth section of the first article; and that no State, without 
its consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate. 

ARTICLE VI 

public debts; the supreme law; oath of office; 

NO RELIGIOUS TEST FOR OFFICE 

All debts contracted and engagements entered into before the adop¬ 
tion of this Constitution shall be as valid against the United States 
under this Constitution as under the Confederation. 

This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be 
made in pursuance thereof; and all treaties made, or which shall be 
made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme 
law of the land; and the judges in every State shall be bound thereby, 
anything in the Constitution or laws of any State to the contrary not¬ 
withstanding. 

The senators and representatives before mentioned, and the members 
of the several State legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers, 
both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by 
oath or affirmation to support this Constitution; but no religious test 
shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust 
under the United States. 


ARTICLE VII 

RATIFICATION OF THE CONSTITUTION 

The ratification of the conventions of nine States shall be sufficient 
for the establishment of tins Constitution between the States so ratify¬ 
ing the same. 


APPENDIX 


203 


Done in convention by the unanimous consent of the States present, 
the seventeenth day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand 
seven hundred and eighty-seven, and of the independence of the United 
States of America, the twelfth. 

In witness whereof, we have hereunto subscribed our names: 

GEO. WASHINGTON, 
President, and Deputy from Virginia. 


New Hampshire: 

John Langdon 
Nicholas Gilman 

M ASS ACHUSETTS: 

Nathaniel Gorham 
Rufus King 

Connecticut: 

William Samuel Johnson 
Roger Sherman 

New York: 

Alexander Hamilton 

New Jersey: 

William Livingston 
David Brearley 
William Paterson 
Jonathan Dayton 

Pennsylvania: 

Benjamin Franklin 
Thomas Mifflin 
Robert Morris 
George Clymer 
Thomas Fitzsimmons 
James Wilson 
Gouveneur Morris 

Attest: 


Delaware: 

George Read 
Gunning Bedford, Jr. 

John Dickinson 
Richard Bassett 
Jacob Broom 

Maryland: 

James McHenry 

Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer 

Daniel Carroll 

Virginia: 

John Blair 
James Madison, Jr. 

North Carolina: 

William Blount 
Richard Dobbs Spaight 
Hugh Williamson 

South Carolina: 

John Rutledge 
Charles Pinckney 
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney 
Pierce Butler 

Georgia: 

William Few 
Abraham Baldwin 

WILLIAM JACKSON, Secretary. 


AMENDMENTS 

Articles in addition to, and amendments of, the Constitution of the 
United States of America, proposed by Congress, and ratified by the 


204 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


legislatures of the several States pursuant of the fifth article of the 
original Constitution. 

ARTICLE I 

FREEDOM OF RELIGION, SPEECH, PRESS, AND RIGHT OF ASSEMBLY 

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, 
or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of 
speech, ot of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, 
and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. 

ARTICLE II 

RIGHT TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS 

A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free 
state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be in¬ 
fringed. 

ARTICLE III 

NO QUARTERING OF TROOPS 

No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house without 
the consent of the owner; nor in time of war but in a manner to be 
prescribed by law. 

ARTICLE IV 

FREEDOM FROM UNREASONABLE SEARCH AND SEIZURE 

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, 
and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be 
violated, and no warrants shall issue but upon probable cause, sup¬ 
ported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to 
be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. 

ARTICLE V 

RIGHTS OF PERSONS ACCUSED OF CRIME 

No person shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise infamous 
crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except 
in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in 
actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person 
be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or 
limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against 
himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due 
process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use 
without just compensation. 


APPENDIX 


205 


ARTICLE VI 

TRIAL BY JURY IN CRIMINAL CASES 

In all criminal prosecutions the accused shall enjoy the right to a 
speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district 
wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall 
have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the 
nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses 
against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in 
his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense. 

ARTICLE VII 

TRIAL BY JURY IN CIVIL CASES 

In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed 
twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no 
fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the 
United States than according to the rules of common law. 

ARTICLE VIII 

NO EXCESSIVE BAIL, FINES, NOR CRUEL PUNISHMENT 

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor 
cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. 

ARTICLE IX 

ADDITIONAL GUARANTEE OF PEOPLE’S RIGHTS 

The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be 
construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. 

ARTICLE X 

POWERS RESERVED TO STATES AND THE PEOPLE 

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, 
nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respect¬ 
ively, or to the people. 

ARTICLE XI 

LIMITATIONS ON POWERS OF THE FEDERAL COURTS 

The judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to 
extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against 
one of the United States by citizens of another State, or by citizens or 
subjects of any foreign state. 


206 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


ARTICLE XII 

ELECTION OF PRESIDENT AND VICE PRESIDENT 

The electors shall meet in their respective States and vote by ballot 
for President and Vice President, one of whom, at least, shall not be 
an inhabitant of the same State with themselves; they shall name in 
their ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots 
the person voted for as Vice President; and they shall make distinct 
lists of all persons voted for as President, and of all persons voted for 
as Vice President, and of the number of votes for each, which lists they 
shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the govern¬ 
ment of the United States, directed to the president of the Senate; 
the president of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and 
House of Representatives, open all the certificates, and the votes shall 
then be counted; the person having the greatest number of votes for 
President shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the 
whole number of electors appointed; and if no person have such ma¬ 
jority, then from the persons having the highest numbers not exceeding 
three on the list of those voted for as President, the House of Repre¬ 
sentatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But in 
choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by States, the represen¬ 
tation from each State having one vote. A quorum for this purpose 
shall consist of member or members from two thirds of the States, 
and a majority of all the States shall be necessary to a choice. And 
if the House of Representatives shall not choose a President whenever 
the right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day of 
March next following, then the Vice President shall act as President, 
as in the case of the death or other constitutional disability of the 
President. The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice 
President shall be the Vice President, if such number be a majority 
of the whole number of electors appointed; and if no person have a 
majority, then from the two highest numbers on the list the Senate 
shall choose the Vice President. A quorum for the purpose shall 
consist of two thirds of the whole number of senators, and a majority 
of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. But no person 
constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to 
that of Vice President of the United States. 

ARTICLE XIII 

ABOLITION OF SLAVERY 

Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a 
punishment for crime, whereof the party shall have been duly con- 


APPENDIX 


207 


victed, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to 
their jurisdiction. 

Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by ap¬ 
propriate legislation. 


ARTICLE XIV 

NEW LAWS MADE NECESSARY BY THE CIVIL WAR 

Citizenship Guaranteed and Defined 

Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, 
and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States 
and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce 
any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of 
the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, 
or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within 
its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. 

Apportionment of Representatives 

Section 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several 
States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number 
of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the 
right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and 
, Vice President of the United States, representatives in Congress, the 
executive and judicial officers of a State, or the members of the legisla¬ 
ture thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being 
twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any 
way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the 
basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which 
the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of 
male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State. 

Office Denied Certain Persons 

Section 3. No person shall be a senator or representative in Con¬ 
gress, or elector of President or Vice President, or hold any office, civil or 
military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having 
previously taken an oath as a member of Congress, or as an officer of 
the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an 
executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution 
of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion 
against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But 
Congress may, by a vote of two thirds of each house, remove such 
disability. 


208 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


National Debts Guaranteed and Certain Others Denied 

Section 4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, 
authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and 
bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not 
be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall 
assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or 
rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipa¬ 
tion of any slave; but all such debts, obligations, and claims shall be 
held illegal and void. 

Section 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appro¬ 
priate legislation, the provisions of this article. 

ARTICLE XV 

RIGHT TO VOTE GUARANTEED TO ALL CITIZENS 

Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall 
not be denied or abridged by the United States, or by any State, on 
account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. 

Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by 
appropriate legislation. 

ARTICLE XVI 

INCOME TAX AUTHORIZED 

The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, . 
from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the 
several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration. 

ARTICLE XVII 

DIRECT ELECTION OF SENATORS 

The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two senators 
from each State, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and each 
senator shall have one vote. The electors in each State shall have the 
qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the 
State legislatures. 

When vacancies happen in the representaton of any State in the 
Senate, the executive authority of such State shall issue writs of election 
to fill such vacancies; provided , that the legislature of any State may 
empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until 
the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct. 

This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the election or 
term of any senator chosen before it becomes valid as part of the Con¬ 
stitution. 


APPENDIX 


209 


ARTICLE XVIII 

THE PROHIBITION OF INTOXICATING LIQUORS 

Section 1. After one year from the ratification of this article, the 
manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the 
importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United 
States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage 
purposes is hereby prohibited. 

Section 2. The Congress and the several States shall have concur¬ 
rent power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. 

Section 3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been 
ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of the 
several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from 
the date of the submission hereof to the States by the Congress. 

ARTICLE XIX 

WOMAN SUFFRAGE 

Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not 
be abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. 

Section 2. Congress shall have power, by appropriate legislation, to 
enforce this article. 


REVIEW QUESTIONS 

CHAPTER I 

1. What is the reason for the existence of government? . 

2. What is law? Why is law necessary? 

3. To what form of government does our Federal Government 

belong? 

4. What are the great departments of government? Why were 

they created? 

CHAPTER II 

5. What interests tended to bind the colonies into a union 0 
What conditions tended to pull them apart? 

What pressure finally united them? 

6. What were the Articles of Confederation? 

7. What were the chief defects of the Articles? 

8. How were the defects of the Articles made clear during the 

“Critical Period’’? 

9. How was the Constitutional Convention brought about? 

For what purpose was it called? 

CHAPTER III 

10. When and where did the Constitutional Convention meet? 

Who were the leading men in it? 

11. What is the general nature of the government established in 

the Constitution, in contrast with the government under the 
Articles of Confederation? 

12. What is meant by ratification of the Constitution? What 

resistance was made to ratification? 

CHAPTER IV 

13. What is the meaning of the word preamble? 

14. Why is the Preamble to the Constitution important? What 

does it state? 

CHAPTER V 

15. How is the legislative department organized? 

1G. How are members of the House of Representatives chosen? 
For what terms? 


210 


APPENDIX 


211 


17. Why is the House known as the popular branch of Congress? 

18. What are the qualifications required of members of the House? 

19. How is membership in the House apportioned? 

20. What is meant by impeachment? In which house are impeach¬ 

ment proceedings begun? 

CHAPTER VI 

21. Why does the Senate specially represent the States? 

22. How are senators of the United States elected? What are their 

qualifications? 

23. What are the terms of senators? How are the senators classi¬ 

fied? 

24. What officer presides over the Senate? 

25. What special powers has the Senate? What powers in impeach¬ 

ments? 

CHAPTER VII 

26. When does Congress meet? 

27. What powers has each house over its members? 

28. What privileges do members of Congress possess? Why are 

they given? 

29. What prohibition is laid upon members of Congress? 

30. What are revenue bills? In which house must revenue bills 

originate? 

31. What are the steps in the passage of laws? 

32. What is the veto? What officer may use it? 

CHAPTERS VIII AND IX 

33. What specific powers is Congress given over: 

(а) Taxation? 

(б) Borrowing of money? 

(c) Commerce? 

( d ) Naturalization? 

(e) Bankruptcy? 

(/) Issuance of money? 

(gr) Postal service? 

( h ) Copyright and patents? 

( i ) Inferior courts? 

( j) Matters of a military nature? 

(k ) The seat of government? 

34. What clause gives Congress the right to exercise “implied 

powers”? 



OUR CONSTITUTION 


212 

CHAPTER X 

35. What is the writ of habeas corpus? How is it employed? Of 

what importance is it? 

36. What is meant by bills of attainder; by ex post facto laws? 

37. What is an income tax? 

38. What are titles of nobility? Why are they forbidden? 

39. What powers are denied to the States? Why are those powers 

denied to them? 

CHAPTER XI 

40. How is the executive department organized? 

41. What is the term of the President? 

42. How is the President elected? 

43. What qualifications must the President meet? 

44. How is a vacancy in the presidency filled? 

45. What is the amount of the President’s salary? 

46. What is the inauguration? 

CHAPTER XII 

47. What powers are granted to the President over the army, 

navy, militia, and the executive departments? 

48. What governmental business is performed by: 

(a) The Department of State? 

(b) The Treasury Department? 

(c) The War Department? 

(d) The Navy Department? 

(e) The Post Office Department? 

(/) The Department of the Interior? 

( g ) The Department of Justice? 

( h ) The Department of Agriculture? 

( i ) The Department of Commerce? 

( j ) The Department of Labor? 

( k ) Other executive boards and commissions? 

49. How is the President’s Cabinet formed? What work does the 

Cabinet do? What is the President’s power over the Cabinet? 

50. What powers does the President possess with respect to persons 

convicted of violation of federal law? 

51. What are the President’s powers in the making of treaties? 

52. What are the President’s powers in appointments to office? 

53. What are the President’s duties: 

(a) Toward Congress? 

(b) Toward foreign nations? 

( c ) In the carrying out of the federal laws? 

(d) In the commissioning of officers? 


APPENDIX 


213 


54. How may the President be removed from office? 

55. What is the general importance of the presidential office today? 

CHAPTER XIII 

56. Into what parts is the judicial department organized? 

57. What are inferior courts? What ones have been created by 

Congress? 

58. How are federal judges chosen? Why? 

59. What is the number of members of the Supreme Court? 

60. What is the term of federal judges? Why? 

61. What is a petit jury? What is a grand jury? 

62. What kinds of cases can come before the federal courts? 

63. What is trial by jury? Why is it such an important right? 

CHAPTER XIV 

64. What relationships between the States and the Union are estab¬ 

lished in Article IV, Sections 1 and 2. 

65. What is extradition? 

66. What are territories? 

67. How are States admitted to the Union? 

68. What guarantees are made to the States in Article IV, Section 

4? 

CHAPTER XV 

69. What is meant by the power of amendment? 

70. How may amendments be proposed? How may they be 

adopted? 

71. What does Clause 2, Article VI do? Why was it put in the 

Constitution? 

72. What body has authority finally to decide the matter in case of 

conflict of rights between the States and the Federal Govern¬ 
ment? 

73. What is an oath of office? Why are religious tests forbidden? 

74. What number of Stated was required to ratify the Constitution 

before it should go into force? Why? 

CHAPTER XVI 

75. What are the chief provisions of the “Bill of Rights.” What, 

specifically, is the value to us of each one of these guarantees? 

76. What duties, corresponding to rights, do we owe to our govern¬ 

ment? 


214 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


77. What great thing did Article XIII do? 

78. Who are citizens of the United States? What great rights are 

guaranteed all citizens in Article XIV, Section 1? 

79. What are the main provisions of Amendment XVIII? 

80. What is woman suffrage? How has it been brought about? 


The American’s Creed 

/ believe in the United States of America as a 
government of the people, by the people, for the people, 
whose just powers are derived from the consent of the 
governed; a democracy in a republic, a sovereign 
nation of many sovereign States, a perfect Union, 
one and inseparable, established upon those principles 
of freedom, equality, justice, and humanity for which 
American patriots sacrificed their lives and fortunes. 

I therefore believe it is my duty to my country to 
love it, to support its Constitution, to obey its laws, to 
respect its flag, and to defend it against all enemies. 

—William Tyler Page. 



GLOSSARY 

The meanings of nearly all these words are made clear in the discussion 
of the clauses wherein they occur. This list has been 
prepared, however, for ready reference. 


abridging, depriving; cutting off; 
doing away with. 

adhering, joining with or to. 

adjourn, to suspend business for a 
time. 

admiralty, the court which de¬ 
cides questions having to do 
with marine or naval affairs. 

affirmation, the form of pledge 
used by a person who for con¬ 
scientious reasons will not take 
an oath. 

alliance, a union of interests be¬ 
tween or among nations. 

ambassador, highest rank of rep¬ 
resentative from one nation to 
another. 

amendment, a change in, or an 
addition to. 

appellate, having to do with law 
disputes carried from one court 
to the next highest; appealed to 
the next highest court. 

appropriation, money set apart for 
a particular use. 

apportioned, divided and distrib¬ 
uted among. 

arsenals, places for the storage of 
military equipment. 

ascertained, made certain of; de¬ 
cided upon. 

at large, in full, completely. 

attainder, loss of all rights as a 
citizen by one who has been 
convicted of treason or some 
other serious crime. 

attainted, stained; dishonored; 
tainted. 

bail, money or property given by 
one released from prison for a 
short time, to guarantee his 
return when he is wanted. 

bankruptcies, losses of money 
through failure in business. 


bills of credit, certificates issued 
by a government to circulate as 
money. 

bill, a proposed law. 

bounties, special rewards. 

breach of peace, an act that dis¬ 
turbs or is offensive to one’s 
fellow citizens; disorderly con¬ 
duct. 

bribery, giving or taking of money 
or some other form of payment 
for doing some dishonest deed. 

capitation, per person; a tax 
charged to each person indi¬ 
vidually. 

capital crime, a crime punishable 
by death. 

census, a counting of the people, 
and valuation of their property. 

cession, a yielding or surrender. 

civil office, a non-military govern¬ 
ment position. 

civil law, law relating to the pri¬ 
vate life of individuals. 

clear (a port), to free a ship for its 
voyage by payment of customs 
duties, harbor fees, etc. 

commission, a certificate permit¬ 
ting a person to hold a certain 
office. 

commission, a group of persons 
appointed for a particular task. 

common law, the general law of a 
country, as distinguished from 
its written statutes. 

commerce, exchange of manufac¬ 
tured goods and raw materials 
in large quantities. 

compact, an agreement. 

compensation, payment; salary. 

convene, to assemble. 

concur, to agree to; to act to¬ 
gether. 


215 


216 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


concurrence, agreement or union 
in doing something. 

concurrent power, power held 
jointly by two bodies. 

confederation, a union of two or 
more independent states: 

consul, one appointed by a gov¬ 
ernment to look after its busi¬ 
ness interests in a foreign 
country. 

construed, interpreted; analyzed; 
taken to mean. 

counsel for his defense, legal ad¬ 
vice; a lawyer. 

courts, bodies which explain the 
laws, settle disputes regarding 
the laws, conduct trials of ac¬ 
cused persons, and impose 
punishment on the convicted. 

corruption of blood, loss of rights 
and property by a man’s family 
because of some crime of which 
he alone was guilty. 

current, belonging to the present 
time; in present circulation. 

customs, taxes upon goods com¬ 
ing into the United States. 

counterfeiting, imitating; making 
a copy of with the intention of 
deceiving. 

deem, to judge; to decide. 

delegated, sent as a representa¬ 
tive. 

devolve on, fall upon. 

diminished, made smaller or less. 

disparage, to undervalue; to dis¬ 
honor. 

domestic violence, riots or upris¬ 
ings within a State or nation. 

duty of tonnage, a tax determined 
by the carrying capacity of a 
ship. 

duties, taxes charged upon goods 
coming into or going from a 
country. 


effects, personal property, 
electors, voters, 
emoluments, profits; salaries. 

emit, to issue; to print and send 
into circulation. 

emancipation, liberation; setting 
free. 

enumeration, a counting, 
equity, a certain variety of law. 
expedient, advantageous or wise. 

expenditures, money paid out; 

expenses. 

execute, perform; carry out. 

excises, taxes on goods made, 
sold, or used within the United 
States. 

exercise, to carry out the duties 
of an office. 

executive authority, power to 
carry out or do things; the 
President’s power. 

ex post facto, a law providing for 
or increasing punishment of an 
act, passed after the act has 
been performed. 

felony, any very serious misdeed, 
forfeiture, penalty; fine; loss. 

grant, to give or award, 
grievances, wrongs; injuries. 

high crimes, treasons and felonies. 

high seas, that part of the oceans 
and seas not under the control 
of any single nation; beyond 
three miles from the coast. 

illegal, contrary to the law. 

impeachment, the process by 
which a government officer may 
be removed from office. 

imposts, taxes on goods coming 
into the United States; rarely, 
on goods going out. 

impairing, injuring or weakening. 


GLOSSARY 


217 


imminent, close at hand, immedi¬ 
ate. 

immunities, particular privileges, 
or freedom from a special duty 
or service. 

incurred, become liable or re¬ 
sponsible for. 

incomes, money earned or other¬ 
wise received. 

indictment, a statement charging 
a person with being guilty of a 
particular crime. 

infamous crime, one punishable 
by imprisonment in a State 
prison. 

infringed, destroyed; violated; 
broken down. 

insurrections, uprisings against 
governmental authority; re¬ 
bellion. 

invasions, military attacks by a 
foreign enemy. 

in pursuance of, in consequence of; 
as a result of. 

involuntary servitude, work done 
or service rendered against one’s 
will; slavery. 

jeopardy, danger. 

journal, a record of events or 
happenings. 

judgment, a decision by a judge 
or a body of judges. 

judicial, having to do with judges 
and courts. 

junction, union or joining to¬ 
gether. 

jurisdiction, the matters in which 
a court has power to decide. 

law of nations, international laws. 

legislation, law making; laws. 

legislative, having to do with 
law-making. 

letters of marque and reprisal, 

licenses given by a government 
in time of war permitting pri¬ 


vately owned ships to attack 
and seize enemy ships. 

levying, raising or collecting. 

magazines, ammunition store¬ 
houses. 

majority, more than half. 

marque, the word is no longer in 
use. See letters of marque and 
reprisal. 

maritime, having to do with the 
sea and commerce on it. 

militia, citizen-soldiers, supported 
by the State and called out 
only in times of special need. 

most numerous branch, the lower 
house of the state legislature. 

naturalization, the process by 
which a foreigner becomes a 
U. S. citizen. 

net, free of or cleared from all 
charges or other deductions. 

nominate, to name as a candidate 
for election or appointment. 

oath, a pledge. 

obligation of contracts, duty to 
keep an agreement. 

open court, a court open to any¬ 
one who may care to attend. 

ordain, to appoint to a duty or an 
office; to establish. 

overt act, an act done in public, 
or at least openly in the pres¬ 
ence of others. 

participation, taking part in. 

pensions, money paid regularly to 
war veterans, or others, as a 
reward for their services. 

piracies, robberies on the high 

seas. 

petition, a request. 

petit jury, a body of twelve citi¬ 
zens selected to listen to the 
facts in a trial and decide the 
case. 


218 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


posterity, those who come after; 
descendants. 

post roads, roads over which mail 
is carried. 

preamble, that which goes before; 
introduction. 

presentment, a statement by a 
grand jury that they know an 
offense has been committed, 
but are making no accusation 
(indictment). 

previous condition of servitude, 

the phrase refers to slavery. 

press, all printed publications. 

preside, to take charge of a meet¬ 
ing. 

prescribed, laid down or estab¬ 
lished as a guide, direction, or 
rule of action. 

prior, previous. 

proceedings, things done; business 
carried on. 

pro tempore, for the time being. 

propose, to suggest; to offer for 
consideration. 

public ministers, persons ap¬ 
pointed by the President to 
carry on certain particular gov¬ 
ernmental business, generally in 
foreign lands. 

quartered, assigned to a place for 
lodging. 

quorum, the number of members 
of an organization sufficient to 
do business. 

ratification, acceptance or ap¬ 
proval. 

recess, a temporary stopping. 

receipts, money received. 

redress, relief from. 

religious test, certain religious re¬ 
quirements. 

reprieves, temporary delays in 
punishment. 

requisite, necessary to. 


resignation, a giving up of an 
office. 

revenue, income; the money col¬ 
lected by a government for 
meeting its expenses. 

securities, paper money; certifi¬ 
cates promising the payment of 
particular sums of money at 
certain dates or on demand. 

sessions, meetings. 

suffrage, right to vote. 

suits, disputes taken into court to 
be decided. 

Speaker, the presiding officer, or 
chairman, of the House of 
Representatives. 

subsequent, later. 

take effect, come into force. 

taxes, money raised by a govern¬ 
ment to meet its expenses. 

tender, the form of payment 
which the law says a person 
may demand for debts due him, 
as gold or silver coin or cer¬ 
tificates. 

treaty, an agreement between or 
among nations. 

treason, the act of helping the 
enemies of one’s country. 

tribunals, courts. 

uniform, equal or the same. 

void, worthless. 

valid, just; right. 

vested, given to; belonging to. 

warrant, a paper giving the power 
to do some certain thing. 

writs of election, orders issued by 
an executive calling for an 
election at some other than the 
regular time. 

yeas and nays, affirmative and 
negative votes. 


INDEX 


Adams: 

Samuel, 38; John, 39, 47, 102, 
117, 134, 140, 141 
Agriculture, Department of, 132 
Alaska, 58, 149, 162 
Ambassadors: 

appointment of, 136 
dismissal of foreign, 142 
reception of foreign, 141, 142 
U. S. courts jurisdiction over, 
151, 152 
Amendment: 

power and importance of, 166, 
167 

method of, 167 
Annapolis convention, 36 
Anthony, Susan B., 185, 186 
Appropriations: 

public money spent by, 111 
army, 98, 99 
Arizona, 162 
Army: 

authority to raise and maintain, 
98, 99 

appropriations for, 98, 99 
commander in chief of, 142 
control of, 98, 99 
size of, 99 

to suppress insurrections, 142 
_ Articles of Confederation: 

difficulty of amendment, 35, 167 
mentioned, 38, 45, 54 
move to revise, 36, 37, 43 
provisions of, 32 
weaknesses of, 32, 35, 80, 112, 
116, 148, 169 

Assembly, freedom of, 173, 174 
Attainder, bills of, 108, 112 
Attorney-General, 128, 132, 134 

Bail, no excessive, 176 
Bankruptcies, 86, 88 
Bid of Rights, 172-179 


Bills: 

appropriation, 141 
introduction of, 60 
revenue, 74 

steps in passage as laws, 75, 
veto of, 75, 76, 77 
Borrowing money, 82 
Budget, Bureau of, 130 
Bureaus (Federal Government): 
Budget, 130 
Census, 133 
Children’s, 133 
Education, 131 
Engraving and Printing, 130 
Forestry, 132 
General Land Office, 131 
Geological Survey, 131 
Immigration, 133 
Indian Affairs, 131 
Insular affairs, 130 
Mines, 131 
Naturalization, 133 
Patents, 131 
Pensions, 131 
Reclamation, 131 
Standards, 130 
Veterans’, 130 
Weather, 132 
Women’s, 133 

Cabinet, the President’s: 
composition of, 134 
development of, 134 
influence of, 134, 135, 136 
meetings of, 134 
Campaigns, presidential, 120 
Capitol, national, 102 
Capital, national (see Washing¬ 
ton, city of) 

Census, Bureau of the, 133 
Charters, 24, 25, 31 
Children’s Bureau, 133 
Churches, no State, 170, 173 


219 


220 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


Citizens: 

duties of, 178, 179 
rights of same in all states, 160 
rights guaranteed, 182 
Citizenship: 
defined, 182 
essentials of good, 179 
explained, 86 
Civil Service: 

Commission, 133 
explained, 138 

Coast and Geodetic Survey, 131 
Coinage of money: 

authorized to Federal Govern¬ 
ment, 91, 92 
denied the States, 112 
under supervision of Treasury 
Department, 130 
Coins of the United States, 92 
Colorado, 185 
Commerce: 

Department of, 132 
regulation of, 82-85 
interstate, 83, 84 
Interstate Commission, 133 
Committees of Congress, 60, 65 
Compromises, 44, 57, 63 
Congress: 

committees of, 60, 65 
First national, 47, 154, 172 
journal of proceedings, 71 
method of voting in, 71, 72 
pages of, 59 

powers over its members, 70, 71 
quorums of, 70 
sessions of, 69, 70, 72, 141 
Sixty-seventh, 58 
Sixty-eighth, 70 
two houses of, 54, 55 
Congress of the Confederation, 32, 
36, 47, 54, 91, 117, 123, 128, 
161 

Congressional districts, 58 
Congressional Record , 71 
Connecticut, 25, 44 


Constitutions, object of, 18 
Constitution, the national: 
adoption of, 46, 47 
drafting of, 43-46 
general nature of, 51, 52 
makers of, 38, 39, 41, 42, 43 
manuscript of, 51, 128 
method of ratification of, 170, 
171 

preamble to, 52, 53 
signers of, 45, 203 
supremacy of, 169, 170 
Constitutional Convention: 
importance of, 38 
membership of, 38-43 
mentioned, 57, 63, 82, 112, 116, 
167 

plans for, 35, 36 

Consuls, appointment of, 136; 151, 
152 

Consular Service, 128 
Contracts, obligation of, 112 
Continental Congresses, 28-32 
Coolidge, Calvin, 121,122,134 
Copyright, 96, 97 
Corporations, 85 
Courts, inferior: 
creation of, 97, 148 
jurisdiction of, 151 
names of, 149 

terms and salaries of judges of, 
149, 150, 151 
Custom houses, 81 
Counterfeiting, 93 
Critical Period, 33, 34, 91, 101 
Criminals, return of fleeing, 161 

Debts, national: 

certain ones guaranteed, 182 
certain ones denied, 182 
Declaration of Independence, 29, 
30, 38, 131, 153, 175; text of, 
189-191 

Declaration of Intention, 86 
Democracy, explained, 17 


INDEX 


221 


Denial of office: 
to Congressmen, 74 
to certain others, 182 
Diplomatic Corps, 128 
District of Columbia, 102, 164 
Dollar, 91, 92 

Duties, tariff, 79, 81, 109, 113, 129 

Education, Bureau of, 131 
Electoral college, 117, 118 
Electors: 

presidential, 117, 118, 119, 180 
for Congressmen, 53, 184 
Emancipation Proclamation, 183 
Eminent Domain, right of, 177 
Enabling Act, 163 
Engineering Corps, 130 
Engraving and Printing, Bureau 
of, 130 

Excises, 79, 81 
Exclusion Acts, 83 
Executive department of govern¬ 
ment, explained, 19 
Executive departments of the 
U. S. government: 
creation of, 126, 127, 128 
listed and discussed, 128-132 
Ex post facto, 108, 109, 112 
Extradition, 161 

Farm Loan Board, 133 
Federalist Papers, 46 
Fines, no excessive, 176 
First Papers, 86 
Forestry, Bureau of, 132 
Franklin, Benjamin, 40, 44, 45, 
123 

Garfield, James A., 144 
Genet, Citizen, 142 
Geological Survey, 131 
Government: 
beginnings of, 16 
departments of, 19, 32, 52 
federal type of, 20 
form of, 17, 18 


Government (continued): 
object of, 15, 17 
representative form of, 17, 18 
republican form of guaranteed 
the States, 164 

summary of departments of, 158 
Grant, Ulysses S., 178 
Great Seal of United States, 128 
Guam, 164 

Habeas corpus, 107, 108 
Hamilton, Alexander, 35, 36, 41, 
46, 47, 57, 80, 117, 121, 148, 
168 

Hancock, John, 29 
Harding, Warren G., 122, 134, 
140, 141 

Hawaii, 58, 149, 162 
Henry, Patrick, 38 
House of Burgesses, 24 
House of Representatives: 
creation of, 54 
meeting place of, 58, 59 
membership of, 55-58 
officers of, 60, 61 
sessions of, 69, 70 
vacancies in, 60 
Hydrographic Office, 131 

Idaho, 185 
Immigration: 

Bureau of, 133 
laws, 83 
rules of, 86 

Impeachment, 60, 61, 66, 67, 126, 
143 

Imposts, 79, 81 
Income tax, authorized, 183 
Indian Affairs, office of, 131 
Indictment, 153, 176 
Insurrections, 101, 143 
Insular: 

Affairs, Bureau of, 130 
possessions, 164 

Interior, Department of, 131, 164 


222 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


Jackson, Andrew, 138 
Jay, John, 155 

Jefferson, Thomas, 29, 39, 55, 117, 
140 

Justice, Department of, 132 
Judicial department of govern¬ 
ment, explained, 19 
Jury Trial: 

guaranteed in criminal cases, 
152, 176 

in civil cases, 176 
importance of, 153 
place of, 154, 155 
Juries, grand and petit, 153 

Kentucky, 162 

Laws: 

duty of citizens to obey, 178 
enforcement of, 142, 143 
libel, 174 

steps in the passing of, 75, 76 
Labor, Department of, 133 
Land Office, General, 131 
Legislative department: 

of government explained, 19 
of the Federal Government sum¬ 
marized, 114 
Liberty Loans, 82 
Lincoln, Abraham, 124, 135, 144, 
183 

Mace, 61 

Madison, James, 35, 36, 41, 46, 
117; his Journal , 41, 43, 45 
Marque and Reprisal, Letters of, 
98, 112 

Marine Corps, 100 
Marshall, John, 150, 155 
Maryland, 33, 36, 102 
Massachusetts, 28, 29, 35 
Mayflower Compact, 24 
Militia, 101, 143, 174, 175 
Military Academy, U. S., 100 
Mines, Bureau of, 131 
Mints, 92, 130 


Monroe, James, 139 
Monroe Doctrine, 139 
Morris, Gouverneur, 45; Robert, 
42 

“Mother of Presidents,” 120 
Mt. Vernon, 36, 40, 102 

National Guard, 101 
Naturalization: 

Bureau of, 133 
explained, 86, 87 
oath of, 87 
Petition for, 86 
Naval Academy, U. S., 100 
Navy: 

commander in chief of, 127 
creation of, 98 
Department, 130, 131, 164 
New Hampshire, 171 
New Jersey, 33, 185 
New Mexico, 102 
New York, 33, 35, 41, 46, 47, 63 
North Carolina, 46 

Oath of office: 

of government officers, 170 
of the President, 122 
Observatory, Naval, 130, 131 
Ohio, 120 

Panama Canal, 82, 130; Zone, 164 
Pardons, 126, 127, 136 
Parties, political: 

national committees of, 118 
national conventions of, 118 
platforms of, 119 
tickets of, 119 
Patents, 96, 97; office, 131 
Pennsylvania, 36, 40 
Pensions, Bureau of, 131 
Petition, freedom of, 173, 174 
Philippine Islands, 58, 130, 164 
Piracies, 98 
Plymouth Colony, 24 
Porto Rico, 58, 130, 149, 164 
Post Office Department, 131 


INDEX 


223 


Postal Service, 94, 95, 96 
Powers: 

distribution of, between State 
and Federal Governments, 
179, 180 
reserved, 179 
President of the U. S.: 
date of election, 118 
duty of enforcing the laws, 142 
impeachment of, 67, 121, 143 
inauguration of, 123, 124 
messages to congress, 140, 141 
method of election of, 116, 117, 
118, 119, 120, 180, 181 
oath of office of, 122 
powers of appointment, 137, 
138, 139 

qualifications of, 121 
salary of, 122 
succession to office of, 121 
summary of position and powers 
of, 143, 144 

term of office of, 116, 117 
Press, freedom of, 173, 174 
Prohibition, 184, 185 
Public Domain, 161 
Punishment, no excessive, 176 

Quartering of troops, 175 
Quorums, of Congress, 70 

Railroads, control of, 84 
Railroad Labor Board, 133 
Reprieves, 126, 127, 136 
Reclamation Service, 131 
Religion, freedom of, 173 
Religious test for office forbidden, 
170 

Representatives: 

apportionment of, 57, 58, 182 

number of, 58 

offices denied them, 74 

qualifications of, 56, 57 

salaries of, 73 

special privileges of, 73 

terms and elections of, 55, 56, 69 


J Republic, definition of, 18 
Reserve Board, Federal, 133 
Revenue: 
bills, 74 

internal, 81, 129 
Rhode Island, 37, 39, 46, 63 
Rivers and harbors, 84 
Rights: 

Bill of, 172-179 

of persons accused of crime, 176 
additional guarantee of people’s, 
178 

duties and, 178 
Roosevelt, Theodore, 122 

Seat of government, 101 
Search and seizure, freedom from 
unreasonable, 175, 176 
Senate: 

as court of impeachment, 66, 67 
creation of, 54 
debate in, 63, 64 
officers of, 66 

powers over treaties, 136, 137 
vacancies in, 184 
Senators: 

classification of, 65 
direct election of, 64, 184 
elections and terms of, 63, 64, 
69 

offices denied them, 74 
qualifications of, 65, 66 
salaries of, 73 

special privileges allowed, 74 
Shaw, Dr. Anna H., 186 
Shays, Daniel, 35 
Shipping: 

Congressional regulation of, 83 
United States Board, 133 
Slaves, 161 
Slave trade, 107 
Slavery, abolished, 181 
Speaker, of the House, 60 
Speech, freedom of, 173, 174 
Spoils System, 138 


224 


OUR CONSTITUTION 


Standards, Bureau of, 130 
Supreme Court: 

appointment of judges of, 136 
Chief Justice of, 67, 124 
creation of, 148, 149 
duties of, 151, 170 
importance of, 155 
jurisdiction of, 151, 180; original 
and appellate, 152 
number of judges of, 149 
salary of judges of, 151 
sessions of, 149, 156 
terms of judges of, 149, 150 
State, Department of, 128 
States: 

admission of new, 161-164 
division of powers between 
Federal Government and, 
169, 170 

equal voting strength in Senate, 
166, 168 

guaranteed republican form of 
government, 164 
protection against invasion and 
insurrection, 164, 165 
relation to the Federal Govern¬ 
ment, 160, 161, 164 

Taft, William Howard, 156 
Tariff, 81, 129; United States 

Commission, 133 
Taxes: 

capitation, 109 
colonial, 25, 27, 28 
congressional powers regarding, 
79, 80, 81 
direct, 80, 109 
export, 109 
income, 109, 129, 183 
indirect, 80, 81 
Territories, 161, 162 
Tennessee, 162, 186 
Titles of nobility, 111, 112 
Trade Commission, U. S., 136 
Treasury Department, 129 


Treaties: 
making of, 136 
ratification of, 136, 137 
States denied right to make, 112 
Secretary of State and, 128 
Treason, 143, 154, 155 
Trusts, 85 

Utah, 185 

Vermont, 162 
Veterans’ Bureau, 130 
Veto, 75; pocket, 76 
Vice President: 

does not preside in trials of 
impeachments, 66, 67 
method of election, 116, 117, 
118, 119, 120, 180, 181 
office created, 116 
office not filled, 122 
president of the Senate, 66 
qualifications of, 121 
salary of, 122 
Virgin Islands, 164 
Virginia, 24, 29, 33, 35, 36, 41, 
102, 120 
Vote, right to: 

granted to women, 185, 186 
not denied on account of race, 
color, etc., 183 

War, declaration of, 98, 113; De¬ 
partment, 130 
Warrant, search, 176 
Washington, city of, 51, 69, 102 
Washington, George, 29, 35, 40, 
45, 47, 55, 102, 117, 118, 123, 
134, 138, 140, 142, 155 
Weather Bureau, 132 
Weights and measures, 91, 93 
White House, 102, 122, 124 
Wilson, Woodrow, 140, 142 
Woman Suffrage, 185, 186 
Women’s Bureau, 133 
Wyoming, 185 



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